Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday urged Indian Defence Estate Service (IDES) officers to strive for transformation of Cantonment Boards into smart, green and sustainable urban ecosystems in sync with Government’s Viksit Bharat vision. He also asked them to achieve the target by 2035
He made these assertion while delivering the keynote address at ‘MANTHAN 2025’, a two-day national conference organised by the Directorate General of Defence EStates (DGDE) on the central theme ‘Strategic Roadmap to Viksit Bharat@2047.’
Appreciating IDES officers for successfully fulfilling a dual responsibility — managing over 18 lakh acres of defence land and ensuring the welfare of civilians residing in 61 cantonments pan-India, Rajnath Singh stressed on the need to develop cantonments like modern cities by continuously upgrading systems and processes to make service delivery more efficient, transparent and citizen-friendly.
Underscoring the need to enhance the Ease of Living of the residents, Rajnath Singh pitched for advancing digital platforms such as e-Chhawani 2.0 with the inclusion of AI-driven grievance redressal, multilingual services, and smart health.
There is a need to specifically focus on the welfare of the poor, the disabled, senior citizens and special children in the Canto-nments, he said, adding that future cantonments need to be smart, equipped with smart power systems, renewable energy grids, EV charging hubs, smart waste-to-energy plants and AI-based surveillance systems.