UPA clears arms factory in Rahul's constituency

NEW DELHI: If UPA chief Sonia Gandhi can get a spanking new National Institute of Fashion Technology in her Rae Bareli constituency, why should the scion of the Congress dynasty be far behind?

The UPA government has sanctioned an ordnance factory — which will manufacture 5.56mm carbines and other weapons of 'small calibre' — for Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's Amethi constituency.

While Sonia is known for her collection of saris, probably Rahul's fascination for 'shooting' has led to the decision to set up an ordnance factory in Amethi. That is, of course, apart from the fact that everyone wants to keep the 'rising son' in good humour with 'generous gifts' to his constituency. In a cryptic answer in Lok Sabha on Monday, defence minister A K Antony only said, "The government has decided to set up a small-arms factory in Korwa, in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh."

Korwa, incidentally, falls in the Amethi tehsil of Sultanpur district. The ordnance factory, for which the foundation stone is likely to be laid on December 1 by the young Congress MP, will be the 41st in the country. The factory, it is touted, will provide 'direct employment' to over 1,500 people and 'indirect employment' to many more through the development of ancillary industries in the region. That may well be true but the productivity and capacity utilisation of the existing 39 ordnance factories, which come under the Ordnance Factory Board, have been extremely poor over the years.

Parliamentary committees, time and again, have called for drastic restructuring and merging of the factories to synergise their resources and ensure optimal use of the available manpower and infrastructure. There have also been plans for ordnance factories to establish synergy with the private sector and go in for tie-ups with foreign collaborators.

But not to much avail. While over Rs 1,348 crore was invested to modernize ordnance factories in the 10th Plan period (2002-2007), another Rs 2,831 crore has been earmarked for the same in the 11th Plan. Incidentally, the 40th ordnance factory at Rajgir in Nalanda, which was the then defence minister George Fernandes's Lok Sabha constituency, is yet to take off. With a sanctioned cost of Rs 941 crore, even its construction has been stalled due to huge cost overruns.

Be that as it may, officials say the Korwa ordnance factory will have state-of-the-art machinery and manufacturing facilities to ensure production of 'light-weight weapons, with effective firepower and lethality'. The new factory will come up in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Korwa complex, for which the defence PSU has agreed to spare 34 acres.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com