Antony warns defence PSUs against corruption

In the backdrop of the allegations of irregularities surfacing in the procurement of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) made Tatra trucks, Defence Minister AK Antony on Thursday warned the defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) against compromising on "transparency" in their dealings.

Recently, the controversy starting with the claims of Indian Army Chief General VK Singh that the force was supplied with "sub-standard" heavy mobility trucks at an "exorbitant" price also revealed allegations of financial irregularities on the part of BEML chairperson Dr. VRS Natarajan in the supply of the Tatra trucks since 1986.

According to sources, in a meeting Antony gave a stern message to the Chiefs of eight defence PSUs to work in the direction of timely delivery of quality equipments to the armed forces and steer clear of dubious dealings. The meeting was also attended by the BEML Chief, against whom the Defence Ministry has sanctioned a CBI inquiry in February 2012.

"The Minister has stressed that there should be no compromise on
transparency in their (PSUs) dealings with their clients or stakeholders," sources added. The eight companies included - BEML, Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Mazagon Dockyard Ltd (MDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL),
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL).

Over a period of time the state-owned defence majors - high on confidence and low on delivering quality equipments - have left the armed forces in lurch. Most of the defence projects, marred by constant delays and price over-runs have compelled the armed forces to source their weapons and platforms from foreign markets. This has been a major impediment in the line of indigenization of defence production.

Reviewing the performance of the PSU's, the Defence Minister asked them to "ensure timely delivery of products, highest quality and product support". Antony also asked the PSUs to set benchmarks of quality and timely deliveries for the private players in the field.

This meeting will be followed by the review of the performance of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) on April 16 and the review of Indian Army's modernization with General Singh on April 17.