Ordnance Factory Board rejects Army’s claim of loss of Rs. 160 crore due to inferior quality ammunition !

Accuses Army of improper handling of gunpowder resulting in accidents

It is not appropriate to make such allegations against each other by two important departments during the war like situation. The two departments should coordinate with each other and find proper solution in this context. If there is good communication in both these departments, then it will be easy to deal with the enemy !

New Delhi – In an internal report sent to the Ministry of Defense, the Army has incurred a loss of Rs 160 crore due to the purchase of inferior quality ammunition from the Government Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) during 2014 to 2020. In this amount, 100 medium-range cannons could have been purchased. Due to this gunpowder, accidents have resulted in deaths. On an average, there is an accident per week in which soldiers are either injured or they die, revealed the Army. In response, the OFB has accused the Army saying, ‘accidents can also happen if the ammunition is not kept properly and lack of maintenance of cannons’. It has been clarified by the Board that, ‘Investigation of accidents in the period January 2015 to December 2019 has been completed’.

The board said –

1. If a similar argument was made with reference to defective Krasnopol weapon system worth Rs. 522.44 crore imported at the time of Kargil war, 55 Artillery guns could be purchased with this amount.

2. Improper exercise of firing, as well as attempts to change the design of weapons incorrectly can also lead to accidents.

3. 19 of these accidents have been caused by poor quality. Among them, only 2 percent of the incidents of death are related to the board.