Vol- 2 Issue - 2 April to June 2012 t".1IJrr!"e cf.,state.r~ ~"l ~ ES '" Defence Estates News IDES Newsletter '1~letterE "Special Issue on Old Age Home for Senior Citizens"

IDES: A Service that finds 'Gold ' in Old - Editorial .... 2

Speciailnitiatives for Senior Citizens ~ AU & RC : A well planned Milestone Cantt 3 Fatehgarh Cantt of IDES ...8 Shahjahanpur Cantt 4 Mathura Cantt ~pna Ghar' - Child Care Centre: A Ahmednagar Cantt 4 Jhansi Cantt bold step by Babina Cantt Board ...10 Belgaum Cantt 5 Lucknow Cantt Faizabad Cantt ... 7 IDES: A Service that finds 'Gold' in Old

'Old' as the proverb goes is 'Gold'. Old and aged people are the real assets of society. They have worked hard for the development of the country all their lives and have a vast experience in every walk of life. At this stage of their life, these Senior Citizens need to be taken care of to make them feel special.

Unfortunately, for the Senior Citizens, no special respect or treatment is extended in our society. Though traditionally we are known for better treatment to the old and aged ones throughout the globe, Senior Citizens are very often treated as burden in the family, an appendage forthe society.

IDES as a service is committed to provide better CIVIC amenities in the Cantonments. Under the kind and able guidance of our Director General, Shri Ashok Kumar Harnal, the Chief Executive Officers of the Cantonment Boards throughout the country have taken up the cause of the old, aged and destitute people in the Cantonments and adjoining areas. With the initiatives of these IDESOfficers, Lucknow and Faizabad Cantonment Boards have set up Old Age Home. Dehradun, Shahjahanpur, Mathura, Fatehgarh and Ahmednagar Cantonment Boards have started Day Care Centre for the Senior Citizens. Jhansi Cantonment Board has set up a Reading Room with all other facilities for the Senior Citizens. Belgaum Cantonment Board is actively assisting a private home for destitute Senior Citizens. Cantonment Board is all set to open an Old Age Home / Day Care Centre in near future. Free medical check up and free medicines are being provided to the Senior Citizens in a number of Cantonments. All these efforts are ushering in a silent golden revolution in Cantonment Administration.

In the words of W. Somerset Maugham 'the beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in orderto shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.' Let us help Senior Citizens of Cantonments feel the pleasure of being old. Let them feel that they are really special and letthe message go that we really treat the Old as Gold.

Page 2 I 0 e fen c e Est ate s New s DAY CARE CENTRE FOR OLD AT DEHRADUN CANTONMENT

Shri D. Madhukar Naik, CEO,Dehradun Cantonment Board took a leading role in establishing Swabhiman Kendra - a multi-purpose Day Care Centre & Recreation Centre for Senior Citizens at Dehradun Cantonment. This ambitious and innovative project of Dehradun Cantonment Board provides comprehensive facilities for the older persons - ranging from- diet, nutrition & fitness, recreational area, computer rooms and library, dining halls etc.

The Centre was inaugurated on zs: September 2011 by Shri Ashok Kumar Hamal, Director General, Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence in presence of the Guest of Honour Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, Principal Director, Defence Estates, Central Command, Lucknow. Over 300 eminent personalities & elderly persons attended this function.

Approx. 428 members have been enrolled sofar in the Centre. All the registered members have been given Identity Card. Anugraha, an NGO and a nodal agency on age care working under aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment GOI, is providing entire program design planning, implementation of activities, communitv : mobilization programme, daily monitoring etc.

The facilities which are being provided to the Senior Citizens include Health services, Consultation Religious discourse & Spiritual Programmes, Computer room for E - learning, Library & reading room, provision of radio and television Police/ legal aid helpline, arrangement for indoor games, Music room/ satsang place, Individual counseling on emotional and interpersonal problems, information dissemination on Government schemes meant for the elderly persons.

A qualified team of experts & gerontologists are working for the empowerment of older persons, giving attention to the protection of their rights, their participation in society and the promotion of a positive image of ageing. The Senior Citizen members are provided tea & biscuits every day. Periodical outings / picnics/ pilgrimages, special lectures, sports events, etc. are also being organized.

Defence Estates News Page 3 Under the initiatives of Shri M. P. R. Tripatni, CEO, Shahjahanpur Cantonment Board has started a Day Care Centre for the Senior Citizens. The Centre was inaugurated on so: March 2012. The Board is providing various recreation facilities like T. v., News Papers, Magazines etc. for the Senior Citizens of the Centre along with the provision of indoor games like Carrom, Chess, Cards etc.

As many as 25 Senior Citizens are visiting the Centre every day. They are taught Yoga and other exercises at the Centre. Medical facilities are provided by Cantonment Physician as and when required. Soft drinks with light snacks are served by an NGO. The Board is planning to construct more rooms to facilitate Senior Citizens at the Centre.

Ms. Meenakshi, the then CEO,has taken initiatives to open a recreation Centre for the old at Ahmednagar Cantonment. Total number of Senior Citizens at the Centre is 350. The Board has proposed to develop the Centre out of M.L.A. Fund. Proposal for the same has already been floated to the District Planning Officer, Ahmednagar.

There is provtston of cemented benches and ceiling fans at the Centre. A Television set has been donated by the local branch of Bank of . The Board is running a public library adjacent to the Centre and the facility is fully availed by the Senior Citizens. Most of the Senior Citizens are retired and belong to below the poverty line. Free medical check up is being conducted to the Senior Citizens at the Centre and free medicines are distributed as and when required by the Cantonment General Hospital.

Page4 o e fen c e Est ate s N e ,,,.,,..'<._,,,;' [ HOME FOR DESTITUTE SENIOR CITIZEN (WOMEN) AT BELGAUM CANTONMENT)

St. Joseph's Home for the Senior Citizens (women) is run by the st. Vincent De Paul Society at Belgaum Cantonment. It was established in the year 1856. The Home was reconstructed and opened on is: August 1968 by Rt. Rev. Dr. Ignatius Lobo, Late Bishop of Belgaum. The Home runs on charity. It caters to all castes and creed in and around Belgaum.

With the initiatives of Shri Vijay Rajak, the then CEO, Belgaum Cantonment Board has taken up the cause of the inmates of the Home. Free medical check up of the old women of the Home is being conducted by the Cantonment Board regularly and free medicines are being distributed as and when required. Facilityfor free 24 hours ambulance service is being provided to the Home. The Board is planning to provide Aqua Guard, fans and other electrical equipments to the Home.

[ DAY CARE CENTRE FOR OLD AT FATEHGARH CANTONMENT

Shri M. P. R. Ttipathi. the then CEO, Fatehgarh Cantonment Board had taken all the initiatives to start a Day Care Centre for the Senior Citizens at Fatehgarh Cantonment. The Centre was inaugurated on zs: March 2012 by Brig. D. Andu, President Cantonment Board. The Board is providing all the recreation facilities to Senior Citizens i.e. T. \/., News Papers, Magazines etc. at the Centre along with provision of indoor games like Carrom,

Around 20 Senior Citizens are visiting the Centre regularly. Regular medical facilities are being provided at the Centre by Cantonment Physician of the Board. Soft drinks with light snacks are also being provided through an NGO. In the future, the Board plans to add more rooms to facilitate Senior Citizens and start Yoga and other exercises at the Centre.

Defence Estates News I PageS ------~ DAY CARE CENTRE FOR OLD AT MATHURA CANTONMENT

Under the able guidance of Shri A. R. Nayak, CEO, Mathura Cantonment Board has started a Day Care Centre for old on 29th September, 2011 in the Krishna Bal Vatika Garden. Senior Citizens are taught Yoga dailyfrom morning 5.15 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. atthe Centre.

A library with news papers and magazines has been provided. A LCD TV has also been provided to the Centre duly sponsored by local branch of Union Bank of . There is provision of indoor games like Carrom, Cards etc. at the Centre.

The Senior Citizens used to make full utilization of the benefits by doing Yoga, walking and chit-chatting in the Centre and is very active in the morning hours of the day. Cantonment Board elected members have contributed Rs. 2,000/- each for the Centre. The Cantonment Board dispensary situated near the Centre provides free medical facilities to the Senior Citizens. 15No. of Senior Citizens are registered at the Centre.

~" . "'%R'V >' ~ READING ROOM FOR SENIOR ~HANSlrCANTONMENT j~ib q~y6

Under the initiatives of Shri Harendra Singh, CEO, Jhansi Cantonment Board has come up with a new social venture by developing a well-furnished Reading Room for the Senior Citizens. The Reading Room is situated inside a beautiful park surrounded by natural beauty and greenery all over.

The Reading Room is open to all the Senior Citizens in the morning hours from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and in the evening hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Various books, magazines and newspapers are placed in the room for the readers to go through. This facility is greatly appreciated by allSenior Citizens of Jhansi Cantonment.

Page 6 IDe fen c e Est ate s New s Considering the need of local residents, Smt. Bhavana Singh CEO, has taken all the initiatives to establish an Old Age Home at Lucknow Cantonment. The Home was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, Principal Director, th Defence Estates, Central Command, Luck now on 30 August 2011 in presence of Maj. Gen V. M. Kalia SM, PCB and the members of the Cantonment Board.

At present there are 7 old persons living in the Home. They are being provided boarding, lodging, cloths and medical care free of cost by Lucknow Cantonment Boord. Shri Ashok Kumar Hamal, Director General, Defence Estates visited the Home on ze: Moy 2012 and appreciated the efforts of the Boord in running the Home. The Director General has olso distributed cloths and utensils to the inmotes during his visit.

OLD AGE HOME AT FAIZABAD CANTONMENT

With the diligent and persistent effort of Shri s. K. Handa, CEO,Faizabad Cantonment Board has established an Old Age Home for Senior Citizens. The Home was inaugurated by Shri Ashok Kumar Hamal, Director General, Defence Estates on 6th June 2011 in presence of Shri Ravi Kant Chopra, Principal Director, Defence Estates, Central Command, Lucknow.

The basic requirements / facilities provided at the Centre are as under- 1- Rooms with double bed. 2- Separate bathroom in each room with geezer. 3- Writing tables and chairs. 4- Proper ventilation & sanitation.

The Home is directly under the supervision of RMO. Regular medical check up of the inmates is being carried out by the RMO and paramedical staff There is a common room for the inmates with News Papers, Magazines, Audio player, TV along with the facility of indoor games like Carrom, Cards etc.

o e fen c e Est ate s New s I Page 7 There is a beautiful garden in front of the Home. The inmates are looked after very well. It is really a Home for them away from home. They are served well cooked food thrice a day. There is provision for clean drinking water through Aqua Guard. Tea, biscuits and snacks are also served regularly.

AU & RC: A WELL PLANNED MILESTONE OF IDES )

The management of Defence lands necessarily warrants proper management and maintenance of the land records which inter-alia include records relating to the Government titles on land, record of acquisition proceedings, maintenance of GLRs & MLRs, revenue survey plans, old-grant deeds, lease documents and other crucial land records which have the 'Primary and Secondary' value of evidence of the Government's title on lands. Therefore, it has become necessary to protect and maintain these rare and invaluable land records which also have an archival value.

As part of a multi-pronged approach and as a Disaster Management Strategy, a central facility has been created for preservation and back up and provide accessibility to all user organizations. Hence, an Archival Unit & Resource Centre has been constructed, as per approval vide MoD letter No. 56/15/DGDE/Coord/314/S0{L)/D{L)/2011 dated zr: February 2011 at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore through the agency of Delhi Cantonment Board. The Centre has been made operational and inaugurated on is: June 2012 by Hon'ble RRM Shri Pallam Raju in august presence of Shri Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence.

In welcome speech, Director General Defence Estate Shri Ashok Kumar Hamal highlighted the purpose and functioning of the Centre. As an archive, the Centre will store backups of land records in three formats: digital format, paper form and microfilm form. According to DG, each form of storage has its strong and weak points and together they will serve the purpose exceedingly well. On this occasion, DG has appreciated the work of Shri Rajeev Sharma, Additional Director General (Project) who has planned, overseen and executed the entire project of AU & RCrightfrom inception. DGhas also appreciated the work of Shri Sanjeev Kumar, CEO, Delhi Cantonment Board for construction of the AU & RC building without a single day's delay.

Page 8 IDe fen c e Est ate s New s In his Inaugural address, Hon'ble RRM expresses happiness over the event of making AU & RC operational calling it a very important milestone for Ministry of Defence and DGDE.The setting up of AU & RCis a new dawn in the direction of proper management of land records, use of technology for safe-keeping of documents for sensitivity to history and for reasonability to future. The Hon 'ble RRM also pointed that AU & RC should strive to become focal point for research on history during British Rule and subsequently.

The resolutions passed by different Cantonment Boards, the decisions taken by British Army on various issues pertaining to land tenures and Grants etc. should lead to unravel the unexplained portions of the history- which have an impact till present times. AU & RC should encourage Scholars and Researchers to get involved in analysing the documents.

The Hon' ble RRM releases the updated version of Raksha Bhooomi CDfor Armed Forces on this occasion. He also inaugurated the Software application for release of rental of Hired and Requisitioned land in Jammu and Kashmir. He has facilitated the Computer Programmers of various Cantonment Boards for their outstanding performance in creating different applications for the Defence Estates Offices as well asfor Cantonment Boards.

The main function of Archival Unit & Resource Centre will be as under: 1. To take sufficient steps for disaster management and backup of all Defence land title related records. 2. To keep indexed digital images and microfilm backup of all Defence Land Records. 3. To establish conservation laboratory for restoration & preservation of Defence land records. 4. Toregulate access to Defence land records. 5. Toundertake / facilitate research work. 6. To tie-up with other archival centres for tracking old land records.

News Page 9 'APNA GHAR' - CHILD CARE CENTRE: A BOLD STEP BY BABINA CANTT BOARD

The noble idea for opening a Child Care Centre at Babina Cantonment was taken up on priority by the then CEO,Shri Harendra Singh and the project that initially started with just a feeding program is now grown up into a full-fledged orphanage. A detailed survey was carried out by Babina Cantonment Board in the nearby vicinity of Babina to explore the need of such orphanage. On the basis of feedback received, the destitute, abandoned and under privileged children are being granted admission in Apna Ghar, Child Care Centre.

The Centre was inaugurated on 9th October, 2011 by Shri Ashok Kumar Hamal, Director General, Defence Estates in presence of Dr. A. K. Kapoor, PDDE, SC, , PCB and members of Babina Cantonment Board. The Centre is running smoothly. At present six children are living in the Centre.

Two existing halls situated in Cantonment Board office campus have been converted into Child Care Centre by making addition alteration and carrying out special repair. The premises consist of bed rooms, dining room cum play area, kitchen, care taker's room, toilets and lawn. At present, the building has a capacity to accommodate 15 children which shall be increased to 50 children ata later stage.

Children are admitted on the basis of recommendation of authorities or the Pradhans of concerned vii/age. Following documents are required for admission: 1. Recommendation letter of Station Commander/Cantonment Board Resolution. 2. Willingness of Guardians through an affidavit. 3. Medical Certificate. 4. Certificate to the effect that mother and father of the child are not alive. 5. Photographs of the child duly attested by the recommending authorities.

Page 10 I 0 e fen c e Est ate s New s One cook, one assistant and one care taker have been engaged on contract basis. One armed guard has been detailed in the night and sufficient lighting arrangement has been made in the campus. Lady RMO is the overall supervisor of the Centre. All the children of the Centre are admitted in Cantonment Primary School of Babina. They are accompanied by the care taker to school every day and one teacher has been deputed for teaching the children in evening hours. For the entertainment of the children, a LCD TV and educational CDs have been pravided in the Centre. Some play equipments have also been provided in the campus.

Regular medical check up is being carried out for the children by the doctors of Cantonment General r Hospital. In emergency, a doctor is available to look after the children round the clock. After completion of education upto s: standard, vocational training would be carried out for better future of the children. Babina Cantonment Board has made considerable efforts through public-private partnership and NGOs for the welfare and all round development of the Centre. The Board has made the Centre a real Apna Gharfor the children.

NEWS FROM NIDEM

National Institute of Defence Estates Management (NIDEM) is a premier Institute for the training of IDES Officers and staff of Defence Estates Organization. Following Courses have been conducted / arranged by NIDEM in the recent past: • Training Course for CEOs, oEOs, Programmers and th SDOs on OMS (4 March 2012). th Training Course on OMS for Programmers (24 & 25th March 2012). • Training Programme on Survey Technology for IDES Probationers and SDOs at liT Roorkee tis" to th 29 March 2012). • Training Course on Electronics Total Station (ETS) for SDOs tie:to ur Apri12012). • Second Training Course on ETS for SDOs (23,d to 21h Apri12012).

NEW ENTRANT IN IDES

Mr. Jyoti Kumar joined IDES as a probationer on 4th June 2012. An M. Sc. (Anthropology) from Delhi University, Shri Kumar has worked in Central Excise Department before joining IDES. He takes keen interest in playing Cricket, Bad Minton, Table Tennis and vocal classical music.

DEN accords a warm welcome to the new entrant to the IDES fraternity

o e fen c e Est ate s New s I Page 11 A view of Archival Unit and Resource Centre (A U & RC) of Defence Estates inaugurated by Hon'ble RRM on is: June 2012

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Published by National Institute ofDe{ence Estates Management Raksha Sampada Bhavan, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi - 110010. Ph: 011-25674991, [email protected]

Editorial Committee Chairman A R Datta, Director NIDEM (Retd.)

Member Member M L Rangay, DOG, DE Sanjeev Kumar, CEO, Delhi

DEN is designed by Husnuddin Jalaluddin Quadri, Computer Programmer, Aurangabad Cantonment Board.

Printed at New Delhiby Mogha Printers (Mob. 9811414362 [email protected])