New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh invoked special provisions and granted emergency financial powers to the armed forces to empower them and speed up their efforts to tide over the current COVID-19 situation in the country, on April 30, 2021.
These powers will help Formation Commanders to establish and operate quarantine facilities/hospitals and undertake procurement/repair of equipment/items/material/stores, besides provisioning of various services and works required to support the ongoing effort against the pandemic.
Under these powers, Vice Chiefs of Armed Forces including Chief Of Integrated Defence Staff To The Chairman Chiefs Of Staff Committee (CISC) and General Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs (GOC-in-Cs) and equivalents of all three services have been given full powers, whereas Corps Commanders/Area Commanders have been delegated powers up to Rs 50 lakh per case and Division Commanders/Sub Area Commanders and equivalents have been delegated powers up to Rs 20 lakh per case.
These powers have been devolved initially for a period of three months from May 1 to July 31. These are in addition to the emergency powers delegated to the Medical Officers of the Armed Forces last week.
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The emergency powers were sanctioned to the Armed Forces last year too when the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out. This had helped the Armed Forces tackle the situation faster and in an effective manner.
Earlier this week, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Monday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review preparations and operations being undertaken by the Armed Forces to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"The CDS informed the prime minister that nursing personnel are being employed in large numbers to compliment the doctors at the hospitals," an official statement said.
Modi reviewed the operations being undertaken by Indian Air Force as well to transport oxygen and other essentials in India and abroad.
The prime minister also discussed with Rawat that Kendriya and Rajya Sainik Welfare Boards and officers posted in various headquarters in veterans cells may be instructed to coordinate the services of veterans to extend the reach to the maximum extent possible, including in remote areas.
