People's Democracy

Enquiry Demanded into Tatra-BMEL Deal

THROUGH a letter written to A K Anthony, the defence minister of India, on April 14, 2012, CITU secretary Dipankar Mukherjee pointed out that to many who have a sense of commitment to the public sector philosophy, especially in a strategic sector like defence, the Tatra–BEML deal is not only an issue of criminal culpability or financial impropriety. It is in fact a serious act of administrative lapse and dereliction of duty at the top level of the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), causing irreparable damage to the image and reputation of a defence PSU.

The CITU leader said he was quite shocked that though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reportedly initiated investigations on the criminal culpability, the ministry has not instituted any high power enquiry on the issue of indigenisation of TATRA trucks by BEML though the technology was transferred 26 years ago. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Defence Production had nominated in 2002 the BEML as the “nodal production agency” for the family of Tatra vehicles.

The claim made by the CMD of BMEL that 68 per cent of components have been indigenised appears to be hollow as one understands that only small-value items like fasteners, hardware items, hooks, nameplates etc are being made indigenously. Reportedly, the indigenisation level of high-value items is still very dismal. For example, though engines have been indigenised, hardly 10 per cent of the engines manufactured in the BEML are in use. In case of cabins, auxiliary gear boxes and axles, there was no indigenisation at all. Though the gear box manufacturing has been indigenised, all vehicles are fitted with imported gear boxes. Similarly, chassis have been indigenised but maximum numbers of imported chassis are being used in trucks.

The CITU leader has therefore demanded that the government must immediately order a time bound independent enquiry by an expert committee into this lapse, with the stipulation that the committee must submit its report to the minister. He also insisted that the continuance of the present CMD during the process of enquiry would be prejudicial to the cause, keeping in view his overactive role in the murky deal all through.

In the interest of image of the defence PSUs as well as their role in our self-reliance in defence production, Mukherjee has urged upon the minister immediately order a techno-administrative enquiry along with suspension of the BEML CMD till the completion of the enquiry. This, he said, would not be prejudicial to the ongoing CBI enquiry into the deal.