NEW DELHI: Defence ministry is exploring the possibility to selling nearly 500 serviceable artillery guns to foreign buyers These comprise guns phased out Of service from time to time ranging from World War II gun to nearly 800 British 25poundes guns which were retired as re recently as in 1991. Among the gun (on sale are the 75 mm M116, 7 mm Yugoslavia, 75/24 El, 2 Pounders, 3.7 inch Howitzer, 105 ‘mm Italian Howitzer, 1/60Bofors ‘AA towed /SP and intial batch of 1/70 guns. Other equipment on sale include 165 Centurion tanks and about 1.5 takh303 and the old 7.62 rifles, obsolete electronic equipment and huge quantities o spares for the guas and equipment being sold.

Also, the Cabinet committee on Political affairs (CCPA)is to clear Le sale of old ammunition of al types costing Rs.800 crores and certain other categories of tanks ‘Also awaiting clearance is the scrap lying with the Air Force and the Navy, according to sources.

SALE PROCEDURE: Project ‘and Equipment Corporation is the ‘nodal agency for exports of the equipment including buyback and countertrade. It has been di reacted to submit its report of sales to the government by March 31 ‘Thereafter, the “services disposal committee” headed by a Lieutenant general, which has identified the surplus equipment, will be required to dispose the unsold equipment as scrap within the Country, according to sources.

‘While the scrap, excluding the ammunition, weighs about 100,000 tons and is likely 10 fetch Rs.200 crores, sources are ‘optimistic that the earning could ‘be a whopping Rs. 1000crore from the combined sales of serviceable equipment, old ammunition and the so rap.

Recently, 6 Centurion tanks were sold as scrap to private dealers in the vehicle depot in Delhi. The tanks were sold through the Meta Scrap Trade Corporation at Rs. lakh per tank. This excludes the ‘cost of mutilating the tank alloy ‘metal done by oxyacetylene gas. ‘The cost was borne by the buyers ‘The price eae is understood to be three times the price offered by public sector undertakings. Spurred by this sale, 16moretanks are to be auctioned soon in Deli according to sources.

Recounting the embarrassing events, when on the recommendation of the Jai Sinha committee in 1978, Centurion tanks sold as scrap found their way as to South Africa as serviceable weapons, ‘sources are still skeptical about the lack of clear directives to the PEC by the government. Although negative list of countries, which ‘are not to be considered as potential buyers has been drawn, rules regarding sale of various categories of small arms and heavy equipment are still unclear.

 CREWFIRED ARMS: While serviceable rifles can be sold to Private overseas bidders, the government has yet to decide on the sale of crew fired small arms. ‘These include the light machine guns, heavy machine guns and brans. The government will need to be cautious in such deals, as these weapons are used in the low intensity conflicts waging in the third world countries,” observed an officer.

‘The other likely problem will be in the sale of ammunition of Various artillery and armored ‘guns. As this ammunition, like the heavy equipment artillery and tank pieces) is to be transacted on government o government basis it will need to be seen that the shelf life of such ammunition ha not expired. This implies that ammunition, in which ballistics breakdown is suspected, will discourage the buyers. For instance, Soviet ammunition has 3 smaller shelf life than British ammunition, “There is a need of having clinch ammunition deals” according to a senior officer, I’s also necessary that the prices for the export should be fixed by the service headquarters rather that the ministry which is unable to rightly evaluate the worst of de fence equipment, according to sources.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 17, 1992