Media Exposed For Playing With Outdated CAG Report On Armed Forces
A part of Indian Media had tried to play games by highlighting a CAG report with screaming headlines on acute shortage of high altitude clothing for our Army in Siachen.
The CAG report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday had revealed that lack of required clothing and special ration has forced the troops to procure old and recycled gear and affected their calorie intake by 82 per cent.
It cited limited budget constraint as the reason behind the acute shortage.
This report was highlighted by a biased media house by not qualifying the report with dates etc and for not getting a briefing on the latest situation from either the Ministry or the Army HQ itself.
Now the Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Tuesday said the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report, citing an acute shortage of high-altitude clothing and inadequate ration for troops deployed in Siachen and Ladakh, is based on an audit from 2015-16 and therefore, is a bit outdated.
Speaking to the media, Gen Naravane said, ‘Indian Army spends around Rs one lakh alone on the clothing of each jawan deployed at high reaches, which includes everything from snow-goggles to boots. This is the kind of preparation we do. We make sure that the soldiers never fall short of any basic facility and I assure you that as of 2020 we are very well prepared.
