Widespread anger is palpable among large sections of naval officers as yet another accident claimed the life of an outstanding officer, even as a dirty war has broken out among senior admirals with lobbies backing them to canvass for the post of new Navy chief.
Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, the chief engineer-designate of INS Kolkata, who was killed on Friday, was among his batch's finest officers. This MTech holder's selection to the commissioning team of country's latest destroyer spoke volumes about his capabilities. One of his batch-mates said, "Any sailor could have opened the valve, but Kuntal went to do it himself."
A retired officer, who has mentored Kuntal in his young days, said the officer was upholding the tradition of leading from the front and being personally responsible to ensure that systems such as those for fighting fire in a ship are personally inspected by officers themselves. "While carrying out a tradition he paid with his life," he said.
The story of young officers laying down their life leading from the front is also among the common themes running across most recent naval mishaps. Lt Commander Kapish Muwal and Lt Manoranjan Kumar also died heroically aboard INS Sindhuratna, their colleagues said. They pushed out the sailor who was on duty to keep watch on the battery pit, and were trying to find out the source of fire. Both paid with their lives.
As young officers hold up the highest traditions of military, many in service are also dismayed and appalled by the low standards to which their senior officers are plunging as they try to project their select candidates for next Navy chief's post.
The government is set to appoint the new Navy chief in place of Admiral DK Joshi who resigned on February 26. What is appalling to the officer cadre is the way the contenders and their supporters are going about projecting individual cases. "They are spending all their time in spreading stories about each other, and in projecting individual cases," one young officer said. "But they don't seem to have enough time to sit down and figure out what's wrong, and if there is indeed a systemic problem."
What has left many young officers agitated is the story in the naval circles that a senior admiral may have played an active role in creating a scare around even minor issues by consistently leaking out information and exaggerating them. This particular officer is among those eyeing the top job, and has long bitterly complained about how he has always been discriminated against by the top brass.
There are also stories about arms dealers and other unsavoury elements taking active interest in the appointment of the new Navy chief. Most of these stories do not have any credible evidence, but they definitely add to the resentment among the younger officers.
India's warship refits suffer lack of quality control
NEW DELHI: India is building a powerful Navy for the future, with as many as 44 warships on order in domestic shipyards at a cost of over 2 lakh crore in a major boost to indigenisation, but huge time and cost overruns have for long plagued the endeavour.
Now, the lack of "requisite quality control", "proper planning" and "effective oversight" is also fast coming into focus in the complex arena of warship construction and refits. On Friday, Commander Kuntal Wadwa was killed after the valves of the carbon dioxide discharging system "malfunctioned" during trials on the new guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata, which was to be handed over to the Navy in end-April. Both Mazagon Docks (MDL) and Navy will conduct separate probes into the accident.
This comes days after two other officers, Lieutenant Commanders Kapish Singh Munwal and Manoranjan Kumar, were killed after inhaling toxic gases due to "a cable fire" on board INS Sindhuratna on February 26, just two months after the 26-year-old submarine underwent an extensive seven-month refit. The mishap prompted Admiral D K Joshi to resign as the Navy chief within hours.
"The levels of quality control and efficiency are tardy in our defence shipyards and naval dockyards, much like other defence PSUs. Lack of proper infrastructure like paltry dry-docking facilities, timely availability of steel and supply of spares also remain huge problems," admitted a senior official.
The Navy currently operates 145 warships, which includes 50 "major combatants'' and 14 submarines, apart from aircraft, helicopters and spy drones, but many of them will retire in the coming years. Consequently, the force has charted out long-term plans for induction of four to five new warships every year.
But the modernisation of the four defence shipyards - MDL (Mumbai), Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (Kolkata), Goa Shipyard (GSL) and Hindustan Shipyard (Vizag) - has lagged far behind what is actually required.
Consider this: There has been a cost escalation of over 225% in the ongoing Project-15A at MDL to build the three Kolkata-class destroyers. The project was first sanctioned in June 2001, with INS Kolkata slated for delivery in 2008. The cost escalation for construction of four anti-submarine warfare corvettes at GRSE, in turn, stands at 157%.
MDL is the largest among the four shipyards, with an order book of around Rs 1,00,000 crore, including the Rs 23,562 crore project for six Scorpene submarines and the Rs 41,007 crore one for seven guided-missile destroyers. But the overall capacity of the four shipyards is limited, forcing the government to explore private shipyards as well as public-private partnerships to meet timelines for ship-building.
Warships on order
1 Indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant—Cochin Shipyard
3 Kolkata-class destroyers (Project-15A) — Mazagon Docks (MDL)
4 Guided-missile stealth destroyers (Project-15B) — MDL
6 Scorpene submarines (Project-75) — MDL
7 Stealth guided-missile frigates (Project-17A) — 4 at MDL, 3 at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE)
4 Anti-submarine warfare corvettes (Project 28)—GRSE
8 Landing Craft Utility — GRSE
5 Offshore patrol vessels — Pipavav Shipyard
2 Cadet training ships — Alcock Ashdown Shipyard
3 Double-hulled catamarans — ABG Shipyard
1 Naval offshore patrol vessel — Goa Shipyard
While the defence ministry may not be very amused by P Chidambaram's advice that it must spend money wisely, many among military officers agree with the finance minister's advice.
The finance minister said: "How is that money (defence budget) spent? If Rs 2.25 lakh crore is allotted to defence, how is it spent? Should it be spent on maintenance, acquiring new equipment, training, raising a new battalion — these are questions which are decided by very senior officers of the Army, Navy and the Air Force."
Commenting on the recent submarine accident, Chidambaram said: "I sincerely hope that the defence forces will learn a lesson and make sure that the money allocated to them is spent more wisely and more efficiently on essential matters." He went on to say that "at some point of time the maintenance of the submarine appears to have been neglected. Only an inquiry will prove the fact, from what reports I have read (it) appears to be neglected. There seems to be some problem with the battery that led to the fire, and two precious lives were lost".
The MOD did not offer any direct comment to Chidambaram, but many military officers agreed with the suggestions.
"I don't really know what is going wrong. But what I can say for sure is that most of the problem is within us. We are also playing our own games (within the military)," said a naval officer who has dealt with submarine acquisitions. He said the navy, and the MOD, have not shown enough perspective to create submarine building, maintenance and overhaul capabilities. "From the HDW days (of the 1980s) when we started assembling submarines we have not moved forward much. We are almost where we started," he said. The result is expensive refits, overpriced foreign items and deep-rooted corruption. "The story is not very different in the case of fighters, tanks or any other major platform," he said.
A senior MOD official said what Chidamabaram said in public is what defence minister AK Antony has been repeatedly telling the forces both in public and private. "The minister has been saying this, and pushing to be more financially prudent," he said. That is why Antony appointed independent financial comptrollers in all major departments including service headquarters, and has taken action whenever any wrongdoing was detected. Almost 600 complaints have been sent for vigilance inquiries by Antony and over 100 of them to CBI, he pointed out. Many of the other steps taken by Antony have also been in many senses a response to concerns about possible irresponsible spending, he pointed out.
However, a senior navy officer pointed out that Antony has failed to push the services into embracing indigenisation in a big way, and to clean up the entire place. "The arms dealers are still very busy, India continues to be the biggest importer in the world, and we continue to spend imprudently," he said.
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