http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/main2.htm
Su-30MKI engine
failures worry IAF; Russia told to fix snag
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News
Service
New Delhi, July 20
The Sukhoi-30MKI
fleet of the Indian Air Force has been encountering mid-air engine failures for
the past two years. India has officially flagged the matter to Russia seeking a
correction.
Repeated engine
failures and the newly introduced precautionary measures have affected the
availability of planes for various operations. The IAF has a fleet of 200
Sukhois.
After a failure,
the engine is replaced after testing before allowing the plane to fly again.
The process of removing and replacing an engine usually takes four-five days,
but can be extended depending upon the damage.
As a stopgap
arrangement, the Russian side had suggested some measures.
The IAF has so far
not arrived at a conclusion of its findings, but as a precautionary step, it
has started servicing the engine after 700 hours instead of the mandated 1,000
hours of flying, adding to the non-availability of the aircraft.
Sources said the
matter was taken up at the India-Russia meeting in June this year and also in
February when a Russian delegation visited the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's
(HAL's) Sukhoi-30MKI plant at Nashik.
The IAF had told
Russians after studying each failure in detail that Sukhoi's engines - AL-31FP
produced by NPO Saturn of Russia - had been functioning inconsistently for the
past two years (2012 and 2013). The number of single-engine landings by planes
in two years is high and not healthy. It lowers the operational ability of the
fleet, besides raising questions about war readiness, said sources.
A single-engine
landing is necessitated after one of the power plants fails mid-air. The
Sukhoi-30MKI is a twin-engine plane and a mid-air failure of one of its engines
means the second engine allows it to land. Such a situation would be
unacceptable during a conflict when the pilot would need an optimum speed to
attack or to withdraw after an attack. The power of both engines is required to
lift eight tonne of payload - missiles and rockets.
The exact number
of such engine burnouts and percentage of fleet that is not available for
flying at any point of time are being held back from publication in the
newspaper as it would adversely impact national security. Had the Sukhoi-30MKI
been a single-engine plane, like the MiG 21, all engine burnouts would have led
to crashes, in some case death of pilots and the resultant furore.
The IAF and the
Ministry and Defence have always considered the Sukhoi as a "safe and
reliable" warplane. So far, only four have crashed since phased- induction
in 1997. A pilot had died in the first crash in 2009 and at least one of the
crashes is attributed to engine trouble.
Sukhoi enjoys air
superiority because of its powerful engine. In horizontal flight, it can fly
2,400 km/hr or achieve a rate of climb of 230 m/s. The engines, specialised
with thrust vectoring control, improves the aircraft manoeuvrability.
In northern and
western India, the Sukhoi-30MKI is based at Bathinda, Halwara near Ludhiana,
Sirsa, Bareilly, Jodhpur and Bhuj.
Single-engine
landings high
The IAF has a fleet of 200 Sukhois
Repeated engine failures have affected the
availability of Su-30MKIs
It takes four-five days to remove and
replace the engine
Single-engine landings by Su-30MKIs in two
years is high
As a precautionary step, the IAF has
started servicing the engine after 700 flying hrs instead 1,000 hrs
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/main4.htm
Pak Rangers pound
border posts, villages in Jammu
Ravi Krishnan
Khajuria
Tribune News
Service
RS Pura/Arnia,
July 20
After a lull,
Pakistan Rangers on Sunday targeted nearly 30-km stretch of the international
border from Pittal outpost to Gharana in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district
raining mortars (81 mm and 51 mm) and heavy machine gun fire on Indian
positions and villages, triggering panic among villagers.
At least two cows
were killed and another was injured at Gharana village. Four more cattle were
injured in other villages and a house was damaged at Gharani village in the
firing and shelling from across the border.
Though there was
no loss of human life on the Indian side, Pakistan media reports claimed that
one Pakistani civilian was killed and seven others were injured in Harpal
village of Sialkot district in the latest skirmish.
The Tribune team
that toured Gharana, Gharani, Jeora Farm, Rakh Jeora Nikowal, Sai Khurd, Sai
Kalan, Sai Kalan Fagla, Trewa, Pindi, Pittal, Chanana, Changiya, Jabowal,
Kathar and Kaku-de-Kothay villages came across fear-stricken villagers. The
team saw Army squads scanning villages and agriculture farms collecting unexploded
mortars and detonating them safely.
A senior BSF
officer said, “Rangers started fire around 12.30 am on our posts from Pittal
border outpost to Gharana — stretch of nearly 30 kms along the border. They
kept firing mortars till 3 am and then switched over to machine gun fire that
continued till 7 am.”
“We responded forcefully,” he
added. The officer said the Rangers used every weapon — from small arms to
heavy machine gun and mortars (81 mm and 51 mm).
“However, in order to ensure
peace on the border, BSF took an initiative in the afternoon. Jammu Sector
Commander DIG BS Kasana contacted on phone Pak Rangers Sialkot Sector
Commander, Brigadier Mateen,” he said.
DIG Kasana protested the
unprovoked firing by the Rangers on a large number of Indian border villages.
Though Brigadier Mateen denied any unprovoked firing by the Rangers, he assured
that they will not resort to any fire, said the officer.
Casualty in Pak
Pak Rangers flare up 30 km stretch of the
border in RS Pura sector
Two cows killed, five cattle injured, a
house damaged
Pakistan media reports said one person died
and seven injured at Harpal village in Sialkot
BSF Jammu Sector commander talks to his
Pakistan counterpart and both sides assure each other of no more firing
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/nation.htm#7
Heart attack — New
enemy in ITBP camps
Director General
of force issues good food orders
New Delhi, July 20
Country's first
line of defence along the China border — the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
force — has a new enemy in sight in the form of heart attack deaths, which has
claimed lives of many of its jawans in the recent past.
The paramilitary
force, whose troops are largely deployed in inhospitable high altitude areas,
has pressed the alarm bell on the worrying trend with ITBP chief Subhas Goswami
writing to his field commanders along the borders and other locations, asking
them to make changes in the present cooking style and eating habits of the personnel.
In his communiqué,
the ITBP Director General has issued instructions to cut down on the use of
high cholesterol ghee and oil for cooking at border posts, battalion locations
and in mess rooms of the force as he expressed concern over the high number of
deaths due to heart-related problems.
Officials said
while 36 jawans had sudden death, including 16 cases of heart attack, in the
first six months of this year, over 50 such cases were reported last year from
various locations of the force, including places where the troops are deployed
in plains.
What got the force
worried was that some of the heart-related deaths took place among the younger
lot who had joined the mountain-trained force in the recent past, the officials
said.
The DG, they said,
has now got issued a first-ever exhaustive recipe book which talks about
preparation of healthy food with the minimal use of oil, spices and salt.
Henceforth, ITBP kitchens will only prepare food as described in these latest
manuals.
Goswami, officials
said, took the step after he was told that high calorie and oily food was
taking a toll on the health of the personnel in the absence of a standard
cooking guidebook in the force.
Subsequent to
this, a 69-page guide recipe book was prepared with the help of nutrition
experts charting out the preparation of a balanced diet of vegetarian,
non-vegetarian food and desserts by the cooks of the force. — PTI
50 jawans died
last year
16 jawans have died of heart attack this
year
50 such cases were reported last year
Force to cut down on the use of ghee, oil
for cooking at border posts, battalion locations and in mess rooms
Health check-ups mandatory for all the
ranks that include jawans and officers
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/nation.htm#9
DRDO makes portable bridge; to help in rescue
ops
Tribune News
Service
Chandigarh, July
20
A mountain
footbridge has been developed by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) that can be used for improving communications in remote
areas as well as in disaster management operations.
The bridge, which
can span gaps up to 13.5 metre and has a pathway of 1.5 metre supported by hand
rails, takes 2—3 hours to deploy. It is an adaption of the man-portable
Mountain Foot Bridge (MFB) developed for the armed forces, which can bridge dry
or wet gaps up to 35 meters, but with a much narrower pathway. Two such bridges
were released for public use by Dr R Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser
to the government, at a function organised in Dehradun last week, a DRDO
spokesperson said.
After the
devastating flash floods in Uttarakhand last year, Dr Chidambaram and Avinash
Chander, scientific adviser to the Defence Minister, had visited DRDO’s
Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) at Pune, where it was
proposed to develop a suitable footbridge similar to the Army’s MFB. The brief
was to keep the cost of the bridge low.
These bridges,
costing Rs 6.5 lakh each, are easy to transport and deploy. The launch does not
require accesses to the far bank or elaborate site preparations, making it an
ideal choice in a disaster situation.
The original MFB
developed for the armed forces is made of high-strength aluminium alloy. It is
man-portable and weighs less than 18 kg each.
The pathway
The bridge can span gaps up to 13.5m and
has a pathway of 1.5 m supported by hand rails
It takes 2-3 hours to deploy and is an
adaption of the man-portable Mountain Foot Bridge developed for the armed
forces, which can bridge dry or wet gaps up to 35 m.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/nation.htm#16
Jaitley follows in
Antony’s footsteps
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News
Service
New Delhi, July 20
In his 55 days in
the office as Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley has ensured continuity in the
sensitive ministry by following the policies of his predecessor AK Antony.
Other than increasing the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence
manufacturing to 49 per cent, each action of Jaitley has supported what Antony
had stood for during his tenure (October 2006 to May 2014) as defence minister.
Antony had
criticised the FDI hike from the existing 26 per cent terming it as a “threat
to national security”.
Chairing the first
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting yesterday, Jaitley okayed projects
worth Rs 21,000 crore. Most of these were initiated by Antony. Notably, the DAC
okayed a project to allow private sector to produce military planes in
collaboration with their foreign partners.
The idea was first
mooted by Antony in 2013 only to see protests from Praful Patel, the then Heavy
Industries Minister. The protest sought to allow Defence Public Sector
Undertaking (DPSU) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited also to bid for the project.
Antony threw up the idea that DPSUs will not be automatically nominated as
Indian partners for big-ticket purchases. He wanted to open up some
manufacturing for private sector.
Jaitley has also
taken a decision to station 32 of the the naval variants of the advanced light
helicopters (ALH) on Navy and Coast Guard ships. The copters on ships need
rotors which can fold, allowing storage of the machine on deck. The HAL has
developed a foldable rotor. The twin engine copter uses Snecma engines of
France. HAL will provide spares and servicing, saving some foreign exchange.
The ALH, light
combat aircraft (Tejas), Arjun tank and indigenous artillery guns were Antony’s
pet projects.
Also, the BJP-NDA
regime that took oath on May 26 will continue to gets warships produced in
India. Jaitley allowed five supply ships to be built by private sector. India
has produced some world class ships of Shivalik class at the DPSU Mazagon Dock
Limited. Hull of the indigenous nuclear submarine Arihant was built by a
private sector firm.
Key decisions
Chairing the DAC meeting on Saturday,
Jaitley okayed projects worth Rs 21,000 crore.
Most of these were initiated by Antony
Jaitley put a lid on the controversy over
the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next Army Chief saying in
the Rajya Sabha that the appointment is final
The decision to appoint Lt Gen Suhag was
taken during the last days of the Congress-led UPA regime.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140721/edit.htm#7
Finalise national
security policy urgently
N. N. Vohra
The most urgent
need for the Central Government is to secure appropriate understanding with the
states for finalising an appropriate national security policy and putting in
place a modern, fully coordinated security-management system which can
effectively negate any arising challenge to the territorial security, unity and
integrity of India. It would be useful, at the very outset, to state that, in
simple language, the term “national security” could be defined to comprise
external security, which relates to safeguarding the country against war and
external aggression, and internal security which relates to the maintenance of
public order and normalcy within the country.
External issues
The first
generation of India's security analysts, who focused attention almost entirely
on issues relating to external security, had found it convenient to distinguish
issues relating to external and internal security. However, such a segregated
approach is no longer feasible, particularly after the advent of terrorism
which has introduced extremely frightening dimensions to the internal security
environment. I would go further to say that issues of internal and external
security management have been inextricably intertwined ever since Pakistan
launched a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir in early 1990 and Pak-based jihadi
terrorists started establishing networks in our country.
Geopolitical
developments
Our national
security interests have continued to be influenced and affected by
geo-political developments in our region and far beyond. In the context of the
experience gained, it is extremely important that, besides all necessary steps
being taken for safeguarding India's territorial security and establishing a
very strong machinery to counter terrorism, close attention is also paid for
effectively securing other important arenas, particularly those relating to
food, water, environment and ecology, science and technology, energy, nuclear
power, economy, cyber security, et al.
While evolving a
holistic approach towards national security management, it would be relevant to
keep in mind that our country comprises an immense cultural and geographical
diversity and our people, nearly a billion and a quarter today, represent
multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural societies whose traditions,
customs and socio-religious sensitivities are rooted in thousands of years of
recorded history. It is equally important to remember that in our vast and
unfettered democracy the unhindered interplay of socio-cultural traditions and
religious practices carries the potential of generating discords and
disagreements which may lead to serious communal disturbances, particularly
when adversary elements from across our borders join the fray.
While it may
appear somewhat trite to cite school-level statistics, our security- management
apparatus shall need to reckon that we have over 15,000 km of land borders, a
coastline of about 7,500 km, over 600 island territories and an Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) of about 25 lakh sq km. These awesome parameters and,
besides, the extremely difficult geographical and climatic conditions which
obtain in the various regions of our vast country present serious challenges to
our security forces who maintain a constant vigil on our land, sea and air frontiers.
While it would not
be feasible to recount the varied security challenges which India has faced in
the decades gone by, it could be stated that the more serious problems in the
recent years have emanated from Pakistan's continuing proxy war in Jammu and
Kashmir; jihadi terrorism, which has been progressively spreading its reach;
the destructive activities which the Left-wing extremist groups have been
carrying out for decades now; the serious unrest created by the still active
insurgencies in the North-East region; and incidents of serious communal
violence which have been erupting in the various states, from time to time.
Mention must also be made of the steadily growing activities of the Indian
Mujahideen, a terror group which has its roots in Pakistan. Another phenomenon,
relatively more recent, relates to the emergence of certain radical
counter-groups which have been organised with the primary objective of
countering the jihadi terror networks. It needs being noted that the activities
of such counter-groups have the potential of spreading disharmony and
divisiveness which could generate widespread communal violence and result in
irreparably damaging the secular fabric of our democracy.
Increased terror
activities
The Pak ISI has
also been striving to resurrect Sikh militancy in Punjab by supporting the
establishment of terror modules from among militants in the Sikh diaspora. The
ISI is also reported to have been pressurising Sikh militant groups to join
hands with the Kashmir-centric militant outfits. The activities of the
Left-wing extremist groups, which have been continuing their armed struggle for
the past several decades to capture political power, are posing an extremely
serious internal security challenge. While there may have been a marginal
decline in the scale of incidents and the number of killings in the past few
years, there has been a marked increase in the gruesome attacks by Naxalite
groups on the security forces.
India's hinterland
continues to remain the prime focus of Pakistan-based terror groups,
particularly LeT and IM. In the recent past, indigenous groups comprising
elements of SIMI and AL-Ummah have perpetrated serious violent incidents in the
country and, notwithstanding its frequent denials, Pakistan remains steadfastly
committed to harbouring anti-India terror groups on its soil.
Having referred to
some of the more worrying concerns on the homeland front it would be useful to
examine whether we have framed an appropriate national security policy and
established the required institutions which are capable of effectively meeting
the arising threats. Before commenting further on this important issue it would
be relevant to keep in view that, as per the provisions in our Constitution, it
is the duty of the Union to protect every state against external aggression and
internal disturbance.
In the decades
past, the country has had to encounter external aggression on several occasions
and no significant issues have arisen about the Union's role and responsibility
to protect the states against war. However, insofar as the Union's duty to protect
every state against internal disturbance is concerned, all the states have not
so far accepted the Central Government's authority to enact and enforce federal
laws for dealing with terror acts, cyber offences, and other major crimes which
have all -India ramifications. The states have also been opposing the Central
Government’s authority to establish new security management agencies with
pan-India jurisdictions. In this context, an argument which has been repeatedly
raised is that it is the constitutional prerogative of the states to manage law
and order within their territories and that the Centre has no basis for
interfering in this arena.
Undoubtedly, the
states are constitutionally mandated to make all required laws in regard to
police and public order, take all necessary executive decisions, establish
adequate police organisations and manage appropriate security management
systems for effectively maintaining law and order within their territories.
However, looking back over the serious law-and-order failures which occurred in
various parts of the country in the past six-and-a-half decades, it cannot be
asserted that there have been no failures and that all the states have a
sustained record of ensuring against any breach in the maintenance of peace and
security within their jurisdictions.
It may not be
practical to detail the varied reasons on account of which the states have
failed to timely and adequately deal with arising disturbances in their
jurisdictions in the past years. However, it could be briefly said that, among
the more significant contributory factors, the defaults of the states have
arisen from their failure to maintain adequate Intelligence organisations and
well-trained police forces in the required strength for effectively maintaining
internal security within their territories. On many occasions, the states have
also displayed the lack of political will to deal with an arising situation on
their own. Instead, the general practice which has evolved over the past many
years has been for the affected state to rush to the Union Home Ministry for
the urgent deployment of Central armed police forces for restoring normalcy in
the disturbed area.
Another factor
which has adversely affected internal security management relates to the
progressive erosion of the professionalism of the state police forces. This
regrettable decline has taken place because of the day-to-day political
interference in the functioning of the constabularies. Such interference has,
over the years, caused untold damage and most adversely affected the
accountability, morale and the very integrity of the state police forces.
In the annual
All-India Internal Security Conferences organised by the Union Home Ministry,
many chief ministers have been taking the position that internal security
cannot be managed effectively because the states do not have the resources for
enlarging and modernising their police and security-related organisations. For
the past over two decades now, the Union Home Ministry has been providing
annual allocations for the modernisation of the state police forces. However,
it is a matter for serious concern that, over the years past, the Central
Government has failed to evolve a national security management policy which
clearly delineates the respective role and responsibility of the Central and
state governments. Nonetheless, whenever called upon to do so, the Central
Government has been consistently assisting the states by deploying Central
police forces, and even the Army, for restoring normalcy in the disturbed area.
Considering the
gravity of the progressively increasing security threats and also bearing in
mind the constitutional prescription that it is the duty of the Union to
protect every state against internal disturbance, it is important that the Central
Government takes the most urgent steps for finalising the National Security
Policy and the machinery for its administration, in suitable consultations with
the states. The National Security Policy must leave no doubt or uncertainty
whatsoever about the Central Government's authority for taking all necessary
steps for pre-empting or preventing arising disturbances in any part of the
country. In this context, it is regrettable that in the past years the Central
Government has not invariably been able to deploy its forces for protecting
even its own assets which are located in the various states. The circumstances
which led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and the grave consequences
thereof suffered by the nation, are still far too fresh in our memories to call
for any retelling.
Under Article 256
of the Constitution, the executive power of the Union extends to giving of such
directions to a state as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary
for that purpose. However, over the years, the Union Home Ministry's general
approach has been to merely issue cautionary notes and not any directives in
regard to an emerging situation. This approach, of sending out advisories, has
not proved effective and, over the years, varied internal disturbances have
taken place in different parts of the country, some of which have caused large
human, economic and other losses.
After the National
Security Policy has been finalised, the Central Government shall need to
undertake, in collaboration with the states, a country-wide review of the
entire existing security management apparatus and draw up a plan for
restructuring and revamping it within a stipulated time frame. While playing
their part in such an exercise, the states would need to accept the important role
which they are required to play in national security management and demonstrate
their unconditional commitment to work closely with each other and the Central
Government for ensuring against any assault on the unity and integrity of the
country.
Ramifications for
national security
For the past
nearly two decades now, there have been repeated pronouncements that the
Central Government is promulgating a law for dealing with identified federal
offences and establishing a central agency which would have the authority of
taking cognisance and investigating crimes which have serious inter-state or
nationwide ramifications for national security. In this context, the proposal
of setting up the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has continued to be
debated for the past several years. A number of states, which have been opposed
to the establishment of NCTC in its present form, have suggested that the
proposed framework of this body should be entirely revised in consultation with
the states. Some other states have urged that NCTC should not be established
through an executive order but through a law enacted by the Parliament and that
it should function under the administrative control of the Union Home Ministry
instead of under the Intelligence Bureau.
As terror acts and
other federal offences cannot be dealt with by the existing security management
apparatus, it is necessary that the Central Government undertakes urgent
discussions with the chief ministers to resolve all the doubts and issues
raised by the states.
For commencing a
purposeful dialogue with the states, with the objective of securing the
requisite Centre-states understanding in the arena of national security
management, the Union Home Ministry could beneficially utilise the aegis of the
Inter-State Council (ISC), of which the Prime Minister is the chairperson.
(To be continued
tomorrow)
— Excerpted from the First Air
Commodore Jasjit Singh Memorial Lecture on July 18, 2014. The writer, a former
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Union Home Secretary and Defence
Secretary, is currently Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
The views expressed in the
article are in his personal capacity and not as a representative of government.
Send your comments to: nsftribune@tribunemail.com
National Security Forum
This is the first of a
two-part series on the urgent need to evolve a holistic approach towards the
management of national security. The writer argues that we have to quickly firm
up an appropriate national security policy and establish the required
institutions to meet the new challenges effectively.
For security sake
The proposal of setting up the National
Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has continued to be debated for the past
several years.
A number of States have been opposed to the
establishment of NCTC in its present form.
The states have suggested that the proposed
framework of this body should be entirely revised in consultation with them.
As terror acts and other federal offences
cannot be dealt with by the existing security management apparatus, it is
necessary that the Central Government undertakes urgent discussions with the
chief ministers to resolve all the doubts and issues raised by the states.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Defence-Ministry-Army-in-Tug-of-War-Over-Funds/2014/07/20/article2339281.ece
Defence Ministry,
Army in Tug of War Over Funds
NEW DELHI: As the
Narendra Modi government focuses on faster decision-making and quicker defence
procurement processes, the Army’s regional commanders may soon get to break
free of the bureaucratic rigmarole, if their demand for hiking their financial
powers, in some cases even doubling it, is met by the Defence Ministry.
If this proposal
is approved by the NDA government, it would pave way for speedier purchase of
weapons and supplies urgently required by the troops for operational needs in
troubled areas such as Jammu and Kashmir and in the North East states, say
officers at the Army headquarters.
According to the
officers, the Army headquarters has sought at least 50 per cent hike in the
financial powers of its key formations such as the Udhampur-headquartered
Northern Army Command in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the
Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Army Command, responsible for the security of the
Northeastern states, to let them buy weapons and ammunition.
At present, under
the financial powers accorded to them in 2006 by the previous UPA government,
the commanders from the North and the East can buy weapons and ammunition worth
only up to `50 lakh without the approvals of higher-ups. This amount could
fetch only bare minimum ammunition for the nearly five lakh troopers
cumulatively posted in both Jammu and Kashmir and the North East, according to
Army officers.
In concurrence with
the Integrated Financial Advisers (IFA), a system introduced in 2006, the Army
commanders—who are all in the rank of a Central government secretary—can at
present buy ordnance stores up to `10 crore.
“It is this financial power,
in concurrence with the IFAs, that the Army wants hiked by at least 50 per
cent. That is, instead of `10 crore, the Army commanders should be able to buy
weapons up to `15 crore. This would though only help in offsetting the inflationary
factors,” an officer told The Sunday Standard.
The issue of hiking financial
powers was first discussed by the Army top brass at the commanders conference
held earlier this year, after the Defence Ministry ordered a review of the 2006
delegation of financial powers on January 23 and sought improvements in the
system.
The then Northern Army
Commander Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra, who retired in May this year, raised the issue
at the Army commanders meeting, noting
“the present budgetary cap restricts purchase of required stores owing to cost
escalation.” He was quoted by sources as saying in the meeting that the
“financial powers should be increased”. His contention was supported by the
procurement branch of the Army headquarters under the Master General Ordnance,
who brought out the case for increasing of financial powers to be reviewed with
the Defence Ministry.
In the case of sector
stores—basically weapons and ammunition that are unique to a particular border
area such as Poonch sector or Menhdar sector— the Army commanders had the
powers to buy up to `25 lakh without consulting the IFAs under the 2006 orders.
In consultation with the IFA,
they could buy up to `2 crore. But the Army wants this power doubled to `4
crore.
In case weapons and equipment,
such as snow boots and jackets for Siachen operations, are to be imported, the
Army commander in Udhampur could do so only up to `2 crore. This again needs to
be doubled to `4 crore, according to the Army.
“Most of the amount prescribed
at present is pittance compared to the cost of weapons and equipment. Even if
the hike proposed by the Army headquarters is accepted by the government, it
would only help ward off the inflationary effects on the defence budget,” a
Lieutenant General-rank officer said, requesting anonymity.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bjp-mp-opposes-army-s-firing-range-expansion-plans-in-pokharan_948772.html
BJP MP opposes
Army's firing range expansion plans in Pokharan
New Delhi: Army's
plan to further expand its field firing range in Pokharan, Jaisalmer is facing
opposition from the local BJP MP who claims this would lead to second time
displacement of thousands of families from the area, which houses Asia's
largest weapon testing facility.
In a letter to
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, BJP's Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said
majority of the land to be acquired under the range expansion plans is fertile
irrigated land and suggested that the Army could expand its range in the nearby
Shahgarh Bulge area, which is "barren and totally deserted".
"The Army has
been seeking land of the nearby villages of the firing range for expansion and
surveys have been conducted for the acquisition of land. The survey by the
local authorities suggests that one more time, thousands of villagers and their
cattle would be forced to be displaced one more time and go through the pain
suffered by their earlier generations," the MP said.
Shekhawat said 13
villages had to be displaced fully and partially when the range was established
45-50 years ago and "the same families have been able to return to the
mainstream after so many years and they may be displaced for the second
time."
He requested
Jaitley to "feel the pain of these people from border areas and to protect
them from these sufferings. Please consider our request with a humanitarian
approach and save our future generations from these sufferings."
Shekhawat said the
firing range was equally important and, "If the range is expanded in the
Shahgarh Bulge area, my people from these areas will not have to suffer this
inhuman tragedy."
The Pokharan field
firing range is is spread over 750 square miles and India carried out both its
nuclear tests in this facility.
The Army also uses
the range to carry out its winter and summer exercises in the firing range
which is close to the international border with Pakistan.
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