Govt committed to welfare of soldiers: Bhamre

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre today said the government is committed to the welfare of soldiers as he inaugurated the Married Accommodation Project (MAP) here and dedicated 623 dwelling units to officers, JCOs and other ranks of the army.
Addressing the gathering at the Meerut Military Station, he said the government will do everything to alleviate their hardships.
"Non-availability and poor standard of married accommodation for soldiers has been a cause of concern and steps have been taken by the government to address this deficiency," an official statement quoted him as saying.
The Married Accommodation Project (MAP) was announced by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001, wherein approximately two lakh dwelling units are being constructed for army, navy and air force over three phases.

90,000 houses have so far been constructed in two phases and this figure will increase to 1.25 lakh houses by the end of next year.
Planning for Phase III has been completed in which 71,000 houses have been planned and construction will commence soon.

The scales and specifications of married accommodation were improved in 2009 by the government which has resulted in improved quality of houses much to the appreciation of soldiers, the statement said.
In May this year, the parliamentary standing committee on defence had come down heavily on the Defence Ministry and the Directorate General of MAP for their failure to provide adequate number of housing units for married military personnel.

The committee, headed by Maj Gen B C Khanduri (retd), has noted that the projects of MAP are running behind schedule by at least two years.