'85,000 metric tonnes of army ammunition lying open'

Government today said that around 85,000 metric tonnes of ammunition belonging to the army was lying in the open or in temporary accommodation.        

"Approximately 85,000 MT of ammunition pertaining to Army is lying in open plinth or temporary accommodation," Defence Minister A K Antony said in the Rajya Sabha.     

The Minister added that enhancement of ammunition storage capacity was an ongoing process in the armed forces.     

In the last few years, there have been various incidents in which Army's ammunition kept in the open has caught fire. The last incident took place around three years ago at an Army depot in Jammu and Kashmir.     

Meanwhile, replying to another query, the Minister said that around 3127 and 300 MT of unserviceable ammunition was lying with the Army and the Navy respectively for disposal.     

The Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) had undertaken a demilitarisation project to address disposal of all types of ammunition available with the Army.