The ministry said unsatisfactory performance of the people made them take the decision
In a rare action, the Defence Ministry on Thursday decided to sack 13 senior officers employed with the ordnance factories. The ministry said unsatisfactory performance of the people made them take the decision. In the recent past, serious questions were raised about the functioning of ordnance factories.
While the action is a sign of the government fixing accountability for poor performance, the Army is irked with no action being initiated in the in last year's incident of a blast in Pulgaon ammunition depot in Maharashtra in which 19 army personnel lost their lives.
A year after the incident, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has come out with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for disposal of ammunition but no accountability has been fixed for the criminal negligence.
Sources said that none of the 13, who has been sacked, that have been "retired" are linked to the Pulgaon incident.
In a representation made on June 27, the Army expressed concerns to the Ministry of Defence over the delay in fixing of responsibility. Letters were sent to Secretary Defence Production Ashok Kumar Gupta and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra. Several accidents between 2015 and 2017 took place but no responsibility for the lapses has been fixed, the letter said.
A few months ago, the government had ordered rigorous screening of a performance of all officers of the ordnance factories which work under the administrative control of the defence ministry's department of defence production.
"The government, after having assessed the overall performance of officers of Indian Ordnance Factories Service, following the prescribed procedure, has decided to retire its 13 Group 'A' officers from government service in public interest due to their overall unsatisfactory performance," the defence ministry said. Official sources said the officers are being served three months' notice period and they will get the pension and other benefits.
Over 19,325 defective anti-tank mines had exploded primarily due to leakage of explosives from some of the mines stored at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon.
The ordnance factories are managed by the officers of Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS), which is a group 'A' central service. The Service is responsible to ensure that the ordnance factories cater to the logistical needs of the armed forces.
The IOFS provides leadership to the 39 ordnance factories employing about one lakh people.
The ministry said various steps are being taken to improve the performance of ordnance factories by making its officers accountable and ensure delivery of quality products to the armed forces within prescribed timelines.
"One of the steps taken in this direction was to initiate rigorous screening of an overall performance of its officers based on their entire service records," said the ministry.
REASONS CITED
- The defence ministry said unsatisfactory performance of the 13 officials made them take the decision
- Sources said that none of the 13, who has been sacked, that have been “retired” are linked to the Pulgaon incident.
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