Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES), Salary, Eligibility

The Indian Defence Estates Service is a group ‘A’ service that one is assigned after qualifying the UPSC Civil Services Examination. The IDES Officers are appointed to work at the Defence Estates Organisation with the responsibility to manage all the civil affairs of cantonments and defence land in India. In this article, we are going to look into the roles and responsibilities of IDES Officers along with their roles and responsibilities and salary and career growth. 

IDES Officers Roles and Responsibilities 

Indian Defence Estate Services Officers have the following Roles and Responsibilities: 

• Overseeing the management and administration of defence lands.
• Supervising the functioning of Cantonment Boards.
• Promoting the development of Cantonments with a focus on providing healthcare, quality education, social care for the elderly, differently-abled, and underprivileged communities.
• Conducting regular surveys of defence lands to ensure accurate records.
• Managing the acquisition, hiring, and requisition of immovable properties for defence purposes.
• Performing regular audits to ensure proper utilisation of defence lands.
• Maintaining and updating digitised records of defence land ownership and usage.
• Preventing encroachments and unauthorized constructions on defence lands and initiating their removal when necessary.
• Overseeing the disposal of defence lands in compliance with regulations.
• Handling legal disputes and litigation related to defence land ownership.
• Advising the Ministry of Defence on issues concerning Cantonments and defence land policies.
• Monitoring the implementation of the Cantonments Act, 2006, to ensure adherence to its provisions. 

IDES Officers Training 

The training for IDES Officers is conducted at the National Institute of Defence and Estates Management at New Delhi. 

• The office of Directorate General of IDES is situated at Delhi Cantonment. 
• The Director of General of Defence Estates heads the Directorate General. 
• A senior additional director general and along with him four other additional director generals are incharge of a specific division. 
• The chief Executive Officer is responsible for leading the 62 cantonments. 
• The officers undergo training at the National Institute Defence Estates Management (NIDEM) at Delhi.

Indian Defence Estate Services Salary and Grade Pay

Being a Grade ‘A’ service, IDES officers are offered the following salary and grade pay:

IDES Officers Career Growth 

Indian Defence Estate Services Officers have the following career opportunities:

• Deputation opportunities with the Central Government.
• Roles with State Governments offering significant responsibilities.
• Opportunities to work with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).