There is a need to pinpoint responsibility both by production and quality assurance agencies to restore confidence in the system
A year after 19 defence personnel, including two Army officers, died in an ammunition depot fire in Maharashtra's Pulgaon, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has come out with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for disposal of defective ammunition, but no action has been initiated for the negligence that led to the disaster.
While the Army is miffed on no accountability being fixed for the criminal negligence, the MoD note on the new guidelines says, "The accountability and regularisation are being dealt under a separate SOP."
The timely disposal of unserviceable ammunition will ensure safety of personnel and stocks, the SOPs circulated on June 7 by the MoD said, adding that adherence to the guidelines was mandatory.
On May 31, last year, a massive fire was triggered at the Pulgaon depot after defective anti-tank mines exploded due to leakage. Over 19,000 mines were destroyed and more than 4 lakh were declared unserviceable after the disaster.
The Army's Court of Inquiry (CoI) had concluded that lapses and error of judgment at various stages of manufacture and disposal by the Director General of Quality Assurance and the Ordnance Factory Board led to the fire.
"The aim of the SOPs is to lay down responsibilities and timelines for management of defective ammunition for its timely disposal."
The SOPs also state that any ammunition with a malfunction caused due to an accident, defect or failure should be segregated within 72 hours. Within one month of a defect being noticed, a joint inspection team from the agencies concerned will submit a report. The classification of the defective ammunition should specify whether the ammunition is serviceable, repairable, needs factory repairs or is unserviceable and needs immediate disposal. The unserviceable ammunition needs to be disposed of within three months and that if declared unsafe or dangerous, it will be immediately disposed of, the SOPs state.
"The SOPs are the only action taken document and that too after a year. Nobody has been held responsible for the death of 19 defence personnel due to negligence," a source said.
In a representation made on June 27, the Army expressed concerns to the MoD 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.
The defects in the mines were detected in 2010 in some depots, including Pulgaon. Sources said since then at least a dozen letters were written to OFB and MoD officials but no action was initiated.
There is a need to trace back and pinpoint responsibility both by production and quality assurance agencies to restore confidence in the system, sources said.
There were clear lapses that were ignored while dealing with ammunition in Pulgaon. According to inquiry reports, leakage began within four months. Despite a warning that the ammunition needed to be disposed of, the ordnance factory tried to repair the defects. It was flagged off as a "safety hazard" in 2012 but no action was taken.
PULGAON TRAGEDY
- There is a need to pinpoint responsibility both by production and quality assurance agencies to restore confidence in the system.
- 19 defence personnel died in ammunition depot fire. SOPs are out but no action initiated for negligence.
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