Remedial steps needed to revitalise’ MES

The study states that though it should have been a right recipe for efficient functioning, there is a general agreement even in the MES cadre that it has fallen short on most occasions and that something needs to be done to prevent its breakdown.

The MES, the largest construction agency in the country, with an annual budget of around Rs 2,600 crore and a work force of about 1.5 lakh workers, is responsible for all civil construction works in the three services and certain Ministry of Defence establishments.

The study points out that unlike the military, the MES has not seen any organisational changes, lending itself to obsolescence. Accountability has become an unknown virtue. Restricted recruitment has led to aging of the work force.

On the management aspect, the study states that virtually no communication exists between executives, supervisors and workmen, resulting in little commitment towards work. As a work intensive organisation, executives are heavily loaded and have no time to do justice to their jobs. Matters are left to clerks and workers begin to depend heavily on union leaders.

Further, the heterogeneity of the organisation does not allow it to work with the required efficiency. It functions like a civil organisation though it has to operate in a military environment where commanders at all levels in particular and the users in general expect quick results.

The MES, the study highlights, is the only government department without a training establishment where basic values can be imbibed by staff at initial stages and refined later on.

A survey carried out among the armed force personnel, which is part of the study, revealed that about 80 per cent officers and 60 per cent other ranks felt that accountability of MES officers and staff is of paramount importance and requires significant improvement. About 85 per cent of all ranks felt that more commitment towards work is required.

Where proficiency is concerned, 65 per cent officers felt that MES staff do not possess the requisite skills. Amongst the MES staff, this figure stands at 50 per cent.

On the issue of availability of stores, over 80 per cent respondents felt that MES workers do not arrive with adequate stores; about 65 per cent of MES workers themselves responded that shortage of requisite stores is adversely affecting their performance.

About 80 per cent of all ranks, including MES officers, felt that MES service does not prompt service.

Recommending a series of remedial measures, the study states that transformation of the MES is now the primary, if not the sole task, faced by the central management.

The recommendations include mobilising the organisation to create awareness about the need for change and creating interdependence of various subsystems by assisting each to be self reliant.

As a short term measure, it is suggested that the change of the security-related documentation process of workers should be done by the Command Chief Engineer enabling Commander Works Engineer or Garrison Engineer to concentrate more on local matters.

Further, the middle level is over staffed. Reduction of staff would make the organisation functionally efficient and physically light. More posts at the level of Zonal Chief Engineer and Commander Works Engineer (CWE) be created so that the workload be sustained by staff redeployed from the middle echelon.

Greater disciplinary powers for the CWE and GE have been recommended along with the establishment of a job-related training centre for MES personnel. Greater interaction and coordination with station headquarters of static formations has also been stressed upon.