New Delhi: Describing as “disturbing” the CAG report which highlighted that the Indian Army is battling critical shortage of ammunition, especially for its tanks and artillery, the Congress on Saturday accused the NDA government of taking defence very lightly.
“The Prime Minister and his government have to answer definitely since when he assumed this office he took defence very lightly,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters.
“Now if the country is not prepared or under prepared and the requirements, the critical needs of ammunitions and spares have not been met for three years then this government is definitely in the dock,” he added.
Sharma was responding to the Comptroller Auditor General report that revealed no significant improvement was made in the availability of War Wastage Reserve (WWR), which is ammunition needed to meet the requirements of 40 days of intense war or a full-scale war.
In its latest report on the Army and ordnance factories tabled in Parliament, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said that in the last few years, no significant improvement was made in the availability of War Wastage Reserve (WWR), which is ammunition needed to meet the requirements of 40 days of intense war or a full-scale war.
“Out of 152 types of ammunition, only 31 (21 per cent) met the authorisation of 40 (days). Balance 121 types of ammunition were still below the authorisation level,” the CAG said in its findings.
According to Defence Ministry approved standards, the Indian Army is supposed to store ammunition expenditure for at least 40 days of an intense war.
The Army has also set ammunition level required for what is called the Minimum Acceptable Risk Level (MARL) – that is the amount of ammunition required for 20 days of war.
But the CAG found that even this level was not maintained in most of the types of ammunition.
The CAG criticised the Ordnance Factory Board OFB for the highlighted inadequate quantity of ammunition supplied to the Army since March 2013.
“Scrutiny of category-wise details of ammunition revealed that the WWR level had increased mainly on account of increase in the stock of explosives and demolition items while majority of high calibre ammunition relating to Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) and artillery ammunition meant for sustaining superior fire power were under critical level,” the report said.
The CAG said it had raised serious concerns in a report on ammunition management in 2015 but still “no significant improvement” has taken place in the availability of WWR ammunition supplied by the OFB.
“Shortfall in meeting the production target by OFB continued. Further, majority of the procurement cases from other than OFB which were initiated by Army headquarters during 2009-13 were pending as of January 2017.”
The CAG report also highlighted that “excessive shortage of fuzes” – the “brain of the artillery ammunition” – was also a matter concern. A fuze is fitted to the shell just before firing.
The report said that 83 per cent of high calibre ammunition for tanks and artillery with the army were not in a state to be used because they don’t have fuzes.
“As the ammunition remain unusable without fuzes, only 17 per cent of scarcely available ammunition would be gainfully utilized for operational requirements.”
“The report of the CAG is revealing and disturbing amid tension on both the borders,” Sharma said pointing out that there was a stand-off on the northern borders with China and on the western frontier with Pakistan.
He also said that on the international border and across the Line of Control there has been heavy artillery firing and exchange of firing for a long period of time.
The Congress leader said there have been attacks and cross-border attacks on Indian defence establishments and on strategic bases of the Indian Army and Air Force.
Sharma said the government has to ensure that the genuine needs of the army are met.
“And for any professional army, particularly when you have to guard such large frontiers against nuclear power neighbours, there is no room or luxury for shortages of critical spares and repairs,” he said.
Lamenting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not appointed a full-time Defence Minister, Sharma said, “India does not have a full-time Defence Minister. When he took oath there was no full-time Defence Minister. Then (Manohar) Parrikar came who was non-serious and a non-performer. Now he has gone back to Goa and again the country is back with no full-time Defence Minister.”
“So it is for everyone to see concerning India’s defence, and the security of our borders is not a question of politics. But we as a opposition have a duty to ask questions and we will ask questions about it,” he said.
Lashing out at the government, Sharma said, “This government and Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) believes in talking all the time.”Shortage of ammunition: Army can’t fight full scale war.
