Defence minister Rajnath Singh called upon the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officers to strive for the development of Cantonment Boards into smart, green and sustainable urban ecosystems in sync with the government’s vision of transforming India into a developed country, and aspire to achieve the target by 2035. He was 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’, in New Delhi on 18 September 2025.

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, 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. “We must increase digital services so that people can avail transparent and timely services from home. We must increase citizen participation so that the residents become partners in the future planning of cantonments. We must transform cantonment boards into modern, transparent, and accountable institutions that can deliver services that meet the demands of the times. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that cantonment residents have the best civic amenities and a quick grievance redressal mechanism,” he added.

Underscoring the need to enhance the ease of living of the residents, 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 cantonments, he said.

The defence minister endorsed financially independent IDES and Cantonment Boards, urging them to brainstorm on the subject and prepare a framework for the realisation of the vision. He extended the government’s full support in this endeavour.

The inaugural session featured special presentations on the outstanding initiatives and achievements of DGDE over the last one year in the domain of defence land governance, as well as strategic roadmap to Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

The conference focused on the evolving role of DGDE in re-imagining defence land management, leveraging advanced digital tools and technologies and strengthening governance frameworks and sustainability. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) Shailendra Nath Gupta and DGDE-designate Shobha Gupta were among the dignitaries who attended the event.