Jawans at Ladakh, Siachen posts getting substandard food, recycled clothes, boots: CAG report
New Delhi: Jawans martyred during face-offs with troops of neighbouring countries over border rows at high altitudes including Siachen and Ladakh, always earn huge accolades and the Centre never stops to make strong assertions that the supreme sacrifice of our soldiers will never go in vain.
Such political statements may bolster the morale of the frontline soldiers but cannot better their condition. Ironically, it is not enough to earn them good quality food, clothes, facemasks, boots and sleeping bags.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its recent report on Defence Services, has revealed that the government has failed to adopt a fair mechanism to ensure timely availability of all the essential items for the jawans deployed at high altitudes that led to the distribution of substandard, recycled and products of old specifications among the soldiers.
According to the CAG report, it's the lacuna in the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that troops deployed at high altitude areas are bound to have reduced quantity of nutrient intake as due to unavailability of prescribed three eggs having calorie value of 158, jawans get chicken kebabs as a substitute at a reduced scale that has 82.75 per cent lesser calorie as the quantity of chicken procured on cost-to-cost basis has just 27.26 calories.
Similarly, in shortage of semiyan, troops get honey that has 70 per cent lesser calorie as the nutrient value of 0.020 gm semiyan is 70, while honey matching the cost of the basic item has just 21 calorie intake.
"Sanctioning costly substitutes in lieu of basic items on the same cost resulted in reduced quantity of calorie intake of the troops. It must be ensured that calorie content is not neglected while providing cost-to-cost items," the CAG report said, which was tabled in Parliament in February 2020.
It further pointed out that the ration at reduced scale with a lesser caloric value would have an impact on the health and fitness of troops posted at high altitude areas and costly substitutes are being procured in violation of SOP.
The audit found that there was a deficiency of 24 per cent to 100 per cent and 41 per cent to 100 per cent in Extreme Cold Clothing and Equipment (ECC&E) at two depots, where the Northern Command's Army Headquarters Reserve of such items is stocked. The Army Headquarters reserve caters for contingencies, dual-task formations for both Pakistan and China fronts and movement of additional troops. Ladakh comes under the Northern Command.
The CAG report also found high-level deficiencies in the issue of Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment (SCME) used in super high altitude areas for protection against harsh weather conditions.
"Due to delays in the procurement of multi-purpose boots, soldiers were supplied with recycled boots. They were provided with alternate clothing due to non-availability of winter complete overall and jawans were compelled to use substandard products, that too, of old specifications," it stated.
"The demand of 750 snow goggles remained unfulfilled so the troops were deprived of this item under the extreme weather conditions at high altitude locations despite the threat of vision impairment to soldiers," the report said, which is based on a CAG audit from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
