Married Accommodation Project by 2018

Defence Ministry assured the members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his ministry, that the Married Accommodation Project (MAP) for the Armed Forces Personnel will be completed by the year 2018. The delay in the implementation of the Phase –II of the project, Phase-III and Phase-IV have been combined, to catch up with the time lost during Phase-II. The meeting was held to discuss on Military Engineering Service (MES) and Married Accommodation Project (MAP).

The MES established in 1923 is one of the largest construction and maintenance agencies of the country. Its primary mandate is to construct conventional buildings, hospitals, workshops, airfields, hangars, dockyards etc. It also does maintenance work in key installations, besides maintaining roads, water and electricity supply, drainage, furniture etc. MES is presently handling some important projects like construction of habitats in high-altitude areas like Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

MAP was initiated after a study carried out by the three services and the Service Headquarters in 2001. It identified the acute shortfall of married accommodation for Officers and Other Ranks of the Armed Forces. The deficiency was to the tune of 1,98,881 dwelling units. In order to complete the project in a limited timeframe and to put the construction process on a fast track, the need was felt to create a dedicated agency. Accordingly a Directorate of Married Accommodation Project was carved out of MES in 2002.

Phase-I covering 57,875 dwelling units is almost complete. Though Phase-II was approved in 2008, it could commence only in September 2010. The Process of tendering is complete and 451 dwelling units have been completed. He also assured the members that once the Married Accommodation project gets completed, the satisfaction levels will improve significantly among the three services.

Members expressed that the project should be expedited without further delay. They also gave suggestions to bring about better improvement in the construction process by applying latest technologies in construction with basic infrastructure facilities. Members also expressed their views that the design should be at par with the changing trends in the construction sector.