Ordnance factories across India cancel long leaves of employees 'in interest of national security': Report

PTI reported the cancellation of leaves in ordnance factories in Maharashtra's Chandrapur, and in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

As tension between India and Pakistan escalates, following a terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that left 26 people dead, Munitions India Limited (MIL), an agglomerate of the 12 ordnance factories across India, has reportedly cancelled long leaves of its employees at most of the plants.

As per a report in The Times of India, no one is allowed leaves more than two days.

While a senior MIL official told TOI that their employees have been put on "alert mode" after the Pahalgam attack, other senior management sources told the publication that this step was taken to meet missed production target, and it had nothing to do with the terror attack.

"If there is urgency to expedite our production, we should be able to do it... But there is no official decision to cancel leave of employees across the 12 factories," the publication quoted the official as saying.

PTI also reported the cancellation of leaves in ordnance factories in Maharashtra's Chandrapur, and in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

A circular issued by the deputy general manager of the Ordnance Factory Chanda in Maharashtra's Chandrapur said, as per the directions received from the chairman and managing director, Munitions India Limited (MIL), "all kinds of leave" stand cancelled with immediate effect. All employees should report for duty without fail and ensure uninterrupted attendance and contribution in line with national requirements "during this critical period", it added.

The circular further said the order was issued "in the interest of national security and operational urgency".

Any exemption will be granted only under the most compelling circumstances, it said.

However, the reason given by Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK) in Jabalpur was not national security but meeting targets, and their leaves beyond two days were cancelled.

OFK, employing about 4,000 people, is one of the biggest units of Munitions India Limited (MIL) which provides ammunition to the Indian armed forces. "Since our target of this fiscal is huge and in April, we haven't achieved our desired target, therefore to compensate for it we have been directed by the HQ to cancel leave so that we have sufficient workforce and supervision," the PRO added.

However, sources from both Jabalpur’s Ordnance Factory-Khamaria, and Ordnance Factory-Itarsi told the publication that the decision was taken in view of national security.

Similarly, Bengal's Gun & Shell Factory-Cossipore employee confirmed that the "current scenario" was the reason behind their leaves getting cancelled.

“We have not issued any official circular in this regard to ordnance factories. But some PSUs have internally instructed their employees to avoid going on leave due to the current scenario," a Department of Defence Production official told the publication.

“We have come to know from our employees working in MIL that their leave has been cancelled. However, we have not got any official communication from the company yet," Mukesh Singh, president of Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh told TOI.

However, leaves have not been cancelled at non-MIL ordnance factories.

(With PTI inputs)