Shailender Kr Pandey
New Delhi, 17 September
The officers of Indian Defence Service of Engineers (IDSE) cadre under Military Engineer Services (MES), Ministry of Defence celebrated their 77th Raising Day with the central theme: “Ethics, Accountability and Excellence towards achieving the aim of Viksit Bharat @ 2047” on 17 September.
The conference was attended by dignitaries of various departments and ministries such as Ministry of Railways, Central Vigilance Commission, Defence Accounts Department, National Highway Authority, Public Sector Undertakings. Defence minister Rajnath Singh ji and Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh, conveyed their greetings and messages to IDSE officers on 77th Raising Day. In their messages, they laid emphasis and importance on ethics, transparency and accountability. Shri AK Jain, IDSE, DG (Pers) delivered the welcome address. He emphasized that as professionals entrusted with public works and government construction, IDSE officers carry a responsibility that goes beyond engineering excellence. Ethics, Integrity, Accountability and Transparency must remain the cornerstone of every decision and every project undertaken. A culture of transparency and accountability not only strengthens public confidence but also reinforces the credibility and reputation of the engineering profession and the government.
Vivek Kumar Gupta, IRSE, Member (Infrastructure) Railway Board, highlighted the importance of integrity and ethics in railways, where capital expenditure is Rs 3 lakh crore. He reiterated the importance of seven benchmarks of ethical practices laid down by Gandhiji. He said excellence is the need of the hour by the entire engineering fraternity if the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047 is to be achieved. Lt Gen Vikas Rohella, AVSM, SM, Engineer in Chief, MES emphasised the importance of ethical teachings from the early stage in life. Education system must be strengthened in these directions. Introduction of Electronic Measurement Book and various other steps taken in MES will go long way to strengthen ethics and accountability. He also touched upon all the stages of public procurement and discretion exercised at all stages must be qualified with ethical principles. Arvind Arora, IDSE (Retd) Ex DG (Pers) spoke on the topic of “Integrity Pact” and ways to eliminate corruption in public procurement. He also highlighted the important role of “Independent External Monitor” in infrastructure projects. He underscored the importance of various checks and balances.
Rajneesh Tomar, IRSME JS&CVO (MES & BRO) emphasized adopting digital initiatives for resolution and streamlining the procedure of vigilance and disciplinary inquires to fast track the disposal of long-pending cases. He emphasised maintaining the balance between enforcement of ethics and accountability and harassment of government officials. He gave importance to reforms needed in MES in addressing and fast disposal of disciplinary cases.
Sharad Sharma, IDSE, Director CVC delivered the talk on the ongoing three-month preventive vigilance campaign: “Probity for Prosperity”. He further described the role of Central Vigilance Commission, Preventive steps in the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to stop corruption, Different nature of complaints and their disposal such as PIDPI. Ashish Nath, IDSE, CVO, NHAI discussed about the different technologies adopted by NHAI to reduce corruption such as FasTag, Zero Cash Digital monitoring through Drones, Dash Cams and AI monitoring. The conference concluded by vote of thanks given by AK Dubey, IDSE, Joint Director General, (Discipline & Vigilance).