NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Panel has slammed the government over its failure to provide enough budgetary allocation for the creation of Mountain Strike Corps to counter China’s aggression on the East.
The Mountain Strike Corps to counter advances of neighbouring countries at high altitude areas has been sanctioned keeping in view the 15-year perspective plan, the panel noted.
“As informed, `5000 crore has been earmarked for it but it is not over and above the actual budget allocated and the Army has been asked to raise this Corps out of its own budget,” the committee observed.
The Committee also came to know that for raising this corps only war wastage reserves are being utilised. It seems very impractical and incongruous that a new Corps is being raised with war wastage reserves, the panel said in its report.
Meanwhile the Committee also observed that capable, motivated and dedicated force cannot move and fight without fuel in the vehicles and fire in its weapons.
The committee recommended that the Ministry of Defence should allocate the amount to the Army as per its projections to buy new weapon system and creating infrastructure for the Army so as to keep its fighting spirit high and ready to move in any eventuality.
Delayed Projects
The committee also pulled up the DRDO for agency’s delayed projects. The Committee noted that there were about 530 ongoing projects in different DRDO labs and out of it 136 in mission mode. Some of these include Agni IV, Agni V, Nirbhay cruise missile, K-15, Nag, Astra, AWACS, Arjun main battle tank, Tejas LCA, etc.
The Committee also noted that out of 44 major ongoing projects, 47 (with a outlay of more than 100 crore), there have been cost revisions and time revision in case of 8 and 12 projects respectively. Besides, 10 projects are more than 5 years old (sanctioned before 2009). Eighteen major projects (more than 50 crore) sanctioned during 10th Five Year Plan (April 2002 to March 2007), but none has yet been completed. Moreover, two of them have been closed, five awaiting closure and one under evaluation. Out of 43 major projects (more than 50 crore) initiated during 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), none has reached completion.