The deadly fire at the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Pulgaon in May has raised questions about the quality and manufacturing process of explosive TNT (trinitrotoluene). According to official communications submitted for the ongoing inquiry into the incident, this is the probable cause of the May 31 fire that broke out in Shed No. 192 at the Pulgaon CAD, setting off anti-tank mines stored inside and resulting in the death of 19 military and civilian personnel involved in fire-fighting. The inquiry has also highlighted neglect at various levels in the system, the inordinate number of stakeholders in the line-up, lack of accountability and defective manufacturing processes at ordnance factories. For instance, the anti-tank mines had been declared defective in 2010 due to TNT leakage — they were segregated and the CAD was awaiting instructions on their repair or destruction. Since then, mails on the imminent danger posed went back and forth between the various stakeholders involved: the Army, the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), the Ordnance Factory Board and the Defence Ministry. The low quality of the explosive has been accepted by ARDE and HEMRL officials on different occasions. The issue of defective mines was also flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General in audit reports in 2014 and 2015.
Despite all this, no action was taken and the ordnance factory at Chanda, which manufactured the anti-tank mines, kept insisting on finding a repair solution. The entire episode raises grave questions. With an elaborate system of quality control in place, how did the Controllerate of Quality Assurance (CQA) clear the mines before they were supplied to the Army? This suggests a lack of standards in defence manufacturing at a time when the government is keen on strengthening domestic industrial capacity and increasing exports. There were conficting interests at play, a result of the complex and overlapping hierarchies. Explosives and ammunition are manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board and then inspected by the CQA, both of which are under the Secretary (Defence Production). The ARDE and the HEMRL, which come under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, are under the watch of the Department of Defence Research and Development. Meanwhile, the three services are under the Defence Secretary. All this gives no control to the end-user, the Army, on the product. It is time the government fixed the systemic deficiencies and misalignments. The findings of the Court of Inquiry would be the logical moment to kick-start the process.
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