New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee was the defence minister and Air Chief Marshal (retd) Shashi P Tyagi was the Indian Air Force chief when “changes” were incorporated in the technical parameters for acquisition of a dozen VVIP helicopters that are at the centre of the bribery scandal.
This comes out clearly in a statement issued by the defence ministry on Thursday, which charts out the sequence of events over the past 14 years that finally led to the inking of the Rs 3,546-crore contract for the plush AW-101 helicopters from AgustaWestland in February 2010. Def min tries to firewall
‘Mr Clean’ from scam Norms changed & deal approved under Pranab’s watch, says MoD
New Delhi: The six-page factsheet rebuts ACM (retd) Tyagi’s argument that he had nothing to do with the changes in specifications, while insulating defence minister A K Antony completely from the controversial parts in the long procurement saga roiling the political class.
The MoD statement confirms the tweaking of the technical specifications, which led to a wider competition but also gave the AW-101 helicopters the opportunity to re-enter the race, were directed by the Vajpayee PMO and the then national security advisor (NSA) Brajesh Mishra in November-December 2003, as was reported in TOI’s Thursday edition.
Interestingly, it goes on to add that the “changes were incorporated” after the “operational requirements were deliberated at length among the IAF, NSA, SPG/PMO and ministry of defence from March 2005 to September 2006”.
The UPA-I regime was in office at the time, with Mukherjee as the defence minister. Antony, the “Mr Clean” of the government, took over the reins of the ministry only on October 25, 2006, a month after the all-important incorporation of the changes. Mukherjee was the finance minister when the deal got the nod from the finance ministry before being cleared by the cabinet committee on security (CCS) and was inked in February 2010.
In the eye of a storm after Italian investigators alleged he was bribed to swing the VVIP chopper contract for AgustaWestland through his three cousins and met the middle-men involved 6-7 times, ACM (retd) Tyagi has claimed the technical specifications were “frozen” before he became the IAF chief on December 31, 2004. However, as per the MoD paper, Tyagi was the chief when the changes were firmed after deliberations among the different stakeholders. He retired on March 31, 2007.
As for the earlier PMO directive, the MoD paper holds that the meeting convened by Mishra on November 19, 2003, decided to lower the operational flying ceiling of 6,000 metres, on the ground that it had led to a “single-vendor situation” since only Eurocopter’s EC-225 helicopter met this requirement, to 4,500 metres.
“It was noted the President and PM have rarely made visits to places involving flying at an altitude beyond 4,500 metres. In the meeting, it was decided to change the mandatory requirement for operational altitude to 4,500 metres. The higher flying ceiling of 6,000-metre and a cabin height of 1.8-metre could be made desirable operational requirements,” it said.
“It was observed that with these revisions, several helicopters, which otherwise met all requirements but had been rejected due to the altitude restriction, would now come into reckoning,” it added.
The second tender or RFP (request for proposal) was subsequently issued in September 2006. The field evaluation trials in 2008 eliminated AW-101 helicopter’s only remaining competitor American Sikorsky’s S-92 Superhawks because it failed to meet four operational requirements, including the 4.5-km service ceiling, as earlier reported by TOI.
Finmeccanica appoints new CEO
Scandal-hit Finmeccanica, Italy’s biggest defence contractor, has appointed Alessandro Pansa as the new CEO to succeed Giuseppe Orsi, who was arrested this week on charges of tax fraud and corruption, including alleged payoffs in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal with India.
“The board of directors of Finmeccanica... confirms that the company is fully operational, and has resolved to confer to Mr Alessandro Pansa insuring comprehensive management of the company and the group,” the company said in a statement. AGENCIES
COURTESY:
Rajat Pandit TNN
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