NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 24: Bullets are flying thick and fast in the Ministry of Defence as bureaucrats and officials in the defence finance department squabble over purchase of bullet-proof jackets. The Army is caught in the cross-fire and is still without this critical apparel that could save many lives.This time the bureaucrats are upset over the babus in the finance department raising questions over the purchase of about 20,000 bullet-proof jackets for soldiers fighting in Jammu and Kashmir.The proposal for these jackets was made in November 1999 and the troops are still waiting. Sources in the Udhampur-based Northern Command said during the Kargil conflict the tenders for emergency purchase of the jackets had been floated in June. And ``within three months, these were delivered. More are needed because of the extensive operations,'' sources said.``Some battalions in the Valley and along the LoC are entitled to 400-500 jackets but have only 100. Bullet wounds in the chest, abdomen and back are preventable and result in unnecessary fatalities,'' added an official.``The Army feels at least 15 per cent of the total Army casualties in J&K are preventable if soldiers have adequate bullet-proof jackets. We get a bad name for sitting on files while the finance personnel raise unnecessary queries and files keep shuttling between one office and another,'' a bureaucrat told The Indian Express.Angry Army officials now want Defence Minister George Fernandes to resort to the Siachen solution. ``He (Fernandes) sent the MoD personnel to Siachen when they delayed the purchase of snowmobiles. Now probably he should send these officials to the LoC and the Valley without bullet-proof jackets to know how desperately we need them,'' they said.The questions raised by the finance department apart, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) is yet to give its verdict on the issue of these jackets. The DGQA officials say the delay is not at their end either. ``First the Army could not position ammunition and earmark a range for testing the bullet-proof jackets. Without testing, how do we give clearance to a product. And then paper work does take time,'' said an official.However no bureaucrat is willing to stick his neck out on the purchases. ``There are both foreign and Indian vendors. After the Bofors scandal, no bureaucrat will be willing to stick his neck out and each objection/query raised by finance is being referred back to source. It takes time when proper procedure is followed. And it is still less than one year,'' he added.Defence ministry spokesman P.S.Bhatnagar said Defence Minister George Fernandes had issued clear instructions after Kargil that there should be no delay in the purchase of essential equipment for the armed forces. ``Eighty per cent of the purchases have already been made and provided to the soldiers. There should be no delay in the procurement of the jackets either,'' he added.
