KOLKATA: The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) offices at Ayudh Bhavan in Babughat is shutting down this week after four decades.
All 1,200 OFB officials and staff have been transferred to the newly formed seven defence PSUs and directorate of ordnance (coordination and services) from October 1. The OFB was the corporate headquarters of the 41 ordnance factories across India and has been operating from this office since January 9, 1979.
The offices were first located at Park Street and then Esplanade East. “Earlier, the OFB was known as Directorate General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF), and before that as Directorate General of Munitions Production (DGMP),” said Baren Banerjee, former union leader and an ex-OFB employee.
A senior OFB official said: “We have to honour the government’s decision.” After OFB employees vacate their offices, the part of the building will be handed back to the defence ministry.
“While this was to happen, it is depressing to think that this will be the last working week for all of us in these offices,” said an employee, adding “While we have been asked to join on a two-year deputation at the new units, our service conditions and rules have not been framed.
So, there is a lot of anxiety, but we have been told that it will not be below the level of our present job.” The secretary of OFB could not be contacted and OFB chairperson CS Vishwakarma did not respond to a TOI email on the issue of the dissolution of OFB.
Sandeep Jain, director, defence department of production (DDP) under the ministry of defence (MoD), in a communication on September 24, wrote that this was pursuant to a Union cabinet decision on June 2021. The letter quoted Jain, saying, “GoI has decided to transfer, with effect from October 1, 2021, the management, control, operations and maintenance of these 41 production units.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen had met Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and requested that none should lose job. She urged him to set up at least two defence PSUs in Bengal and have a directorate of ordnance in Kolkata.”
