When Gokul Mahajan, Defence Estates Officer (DEO), Itanagar Circle, walked up to receive the Raksha Mantri Award for Excellence – 2025, the moment carried significance far beyond personal recognition. For the first time, an officer posted in the North Eastern region was being honoured with one of the Ministry of Defence’s most respected awards for land management.
Conferred by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on 16 December 2025 in New Delhi, the award recognised Mr Mahajan’s sustained and complex work in defence land acquisition, regularisation, litigation management, and record reforms—areas that often remain invisible but form the backbone of defence preparedness.
For Mr Mahajan, the recognition arrived as both a personal milestone and a professional marker of collective effort. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he said,
“Receiving this Raksha Mantri Award for Land Management is a deep honour for me. Personally, it fills me with a sense of pride and gratitude towards my family, especially my wife, who has been a constant source of support in all my endeavours.”
A FIRST FOR THE NORTH EAST
Serving in Arunachal Pradesh presents administrative realities very different from most parts of the country. The state does not follow a conventional cadastral land record system. Much of the land is community-owned, passed down through custom rather than written title. Navigating this framework while ensuring accuracy, transparency, and legal sustainability requires patience, negotiation, and trust-building at the grassroots level.
Mr Mahajan’s work in Itanagar involved the acquisition of over 500 acres of defence land, along with the regularisation of legacy land acquisition cases. In addition, defence land was hired across around 50 land pockets, while court cases—ranging from trial courts to the Supreme Court—were managed in parallel.
“Professionally, I see this as a strong affirmation of the importance of the work that my entire team at the Defence Estates has been doing. It is a reward for the efforts they have put in over the years.”
The award also carried a wider regional meaning.
“This is also the first time an officer from the North Eastern Region has been selected for this award.”
NAVIGATING LAND WITHOUT RECORDS
The most demanding part of Mr Mahajan’s tenure in Arunachal Pradesh lay in reconciling defence requirements with local land traditions.
“The biggest challenge in a state like Arunachal Pradesh is that it does not have proper cadastral records. Most land is community-owned, so getting the entire community involved and ensuring the right people are on board is crucial.”
Ensuring that incorrect names were not entered into official records, and that no section of the community felt excluded, required extensive coordination with village elders, district administrations, and state authorities.
“We had to make sure the entire process was carried out in a transparent and efficient manner.”
EARLIER NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The Raksha Mantri Award is not Mr Mahajan’s first national recognition. Earlier in his career, he was conferred three National Awards by the President of India for his work in cantonment management and development. Much of that recognition traces back to his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Ahmedabad Cantonment Board, where he served for four years before moving to Itanagar.
Ahmedabad presented a very different administrative environment—urban, fast-growing, and financially complex. Mr Mahajan led reforms that significantly strengthened the cantonment board’s financial and service delivery systems.
Property tax assessment for the period 2024–25 to 2026–27 resulted in revenue increasing from ₹5.23 crore to ₹13.35 crore, marking a 155.13 percent rise. Non-tax revenue also saw a sharp increase, with ₹2.75 crore collected in FY 2024–25, compared to ₹85 lakh in FY 2021–22.
These reforms helped Ahmedabad Cantonment achieve financial self-sufficiency, with no grant-in-aid received for two consecutive years.
CITIZEN-FOCUSED ADMINISTARTION
Mr Mahajan’s approach consistently placed staff welfare and citizen convenience at the centre of administrative reform.
“My personal approach has always been towards the welfare of both my staff and the public.”
Under his leadership, Ahmedabad Cantonment launched cashless treatment facilities for staff and their families through tie-ups with 15 major hospitals. Timely disbursal of salaries and pensions became a priority. A mass passport application drive was organised in collaboration with the Regional Passport Office for army personnel and their families.
Urban infrastructure also received focused attention. Sewerage lines in Sadar Bazaar were relaid in collaboration with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation as part of an STP project. A network for treated water supply was expanded across the cantonment.
Several high-visibility projects were executed jointly with civic authorities, including the removal of a long-standing traffic bottleneck at Dafnala Circle, beautification of Airport Road under the ‘Iconic Road’ initiative, development of green patches, improved lighting, and the construction of a foot-over bridge with elevator facilities near Camp Hanuman Temple.
The cantonment also consistently ranked among the Top 3 Cleanest Cantonments in the country for three consecutive years, earning GFC 3-star ULB and ODF++ status.
LEADERSHIP BEYOND THE OFFICE
Mr Mahajan’s tenure in Ahmedabad also extended beyond administration into institutional engagement and sports.
He acted as Chief Liaison Officer during the Parliamentary Committee Visit on Government Assurances in January 2024, hosting Members of Parliament, the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, DGDE, and other central ministries.
In a different arena, he captained the Ahmedabad Titans team to victory in the Southern Command Premier League 2024, earning Man of the Match in Qualifier 2 and Best Fielder of the Tournament.
A CAREER SHAPED BY DIVERSITY
Mr Mahajan’s administrative outlook has been shaped by postings across very different regions of India—Amritsar, Ahmedabad, and now Itanagar.
“Working across such diverse regions—dealing with different societies, languages, communities, and religions—has significantly shaped my perspective.”
He credits much of this adaptability to his schooling at the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun.
“I believe my schooling at RIMC has greatly influenced and shaped me. That schooling has stayed with me throughout my career.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Belonging to the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES), 2019 batch, Mr Mahajan views the Raksha Mantri Award not as a culmination, but as a responsibility.
“It is not just a final achievement for me or the institute. It motivates us to continue working more professionally and diligently towards even better results.”
For Arunachal Pradesh and the wider North Eastern region, the recognition carries an added dimension.
“It will surely boost the region’s morale and strengthen public belief in the administration and the democratic system here.”
In a career built around land records, court files, negotiations, and governance systems Gokul Mahajan’s journey underscores how consistent administrative work—often away from public attention—can leave a lasting institutional impact, both locally and nationally.
