Ammo goes waste due to lack of storage

NEW DELHI, June 13: The Army’s failure to provide proper storage facilities rendered ammunition worth Rs 61.31 crore as “major repairable” and that worth Rs 8.27 crore as “unserviceable”, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said in its latest report.

In December 1994 January 1995, Army authorities noticed that a large number of wooden packages containing serviceable ammunition were affected by termites and moisture. An inquiry ordered by Corps headquarters in August 1995 ascertained the loss due to deterioration of ammunition as Rs 8.27 crore , CAG said in the report tabled in Parliament.

In another report, the CAG said that failure of the defence ministry to authorise an Indian mission abroad to conclude contracts for spares to repair missiles within the validity of the offer led to a large number of them remaining unserviceable for quite a long time.

It said the inquiry described the ammunition packages as being termite affected and felt that storage of ammunition in plinths in areaswhich were low-lying and prone to water collection was the cause for the loss.

Ammunition worth Rs 61.30 crore were “sentenced as major repairable”, it said.