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The government will spend more than Rs 4.87 billion to modernise the army's ammunition dumps, which have been plagued by a series of fires over the past two years.
Minister of State for Defense UV Krishnam Raju has said covered accommodation will be constructed by 2003-04 at all ordnance depots, where ammunition is currently stored on open plinths covered by tarpaulin.
The government, which has not ruled out sabotage as the cause of some of the fires, has moved swiftly to modernise the ammunition dumps, some of which were set up before India's independence in 1947. Thousands of tonnes of ordnance have been destroyed in fires at seven depots since April last year.
Some 10,000 tonnes of ordnance worth Rs 4 billion was destroyed and three people were killed in the fire at the Bharatpur depot in Rajasthan last April. Fires at the Mamoon depot in Punjab and the Birdhwal depot in Rajasthan in April-May also affected the army's operational preparedness.
In written replies to questions in Parliament, Raju said the ammunition dumps would be modernised in a phased manner.
In the first phase, the modernisation of the central ordnance depot in Kanpur had been started at a cost of Rs 1.87 billion, while Rs 3 billion would be spent on upgrading two depots in the next few years.
The inventory at all depots would be automated by early 2005 as part of a 'computerised inventory control project' in three phases, he said.
As a first step, the management of the inventory at the ordnance depot in Delhi would be automated by December.
All other central ordnance depots and some regional depots would be automated by September 2003. All other ordnance depots and smaller ammunition dumps would be automated by March 2005, Raju said.
The defense ministry has also initiated special safety measures at ordnance depots in Punjab that are surrounded by urban habitation.
Raju said the depots were originally located away from cities and towns, which had expanded over the years and now surrounded the ammunition dumps.
In some areas, people had encroached on defense land by violating the Indian Works of Defence Act, which prohibits the use of land around defense installations.
"Shortages in fire-fighting equipment are being made up and defective equipment repaired," he said. "Unserviceable ammunition is being disposed off on priority," he added.
Earlier, Defense Minister Jaswant Singh had told the Parliament on Wednesday that official inquiries into four of the seven fires had been completed. He did not rule out the possibility of sabotage or arson being the cause of some of the fires.
Indo-Asian News Service
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