Indian Army’s artillery guns purchase stalled
for fifth time
NEW DELHI: Despite the Indian Army's depleted
capability of artillery with nothing except 20-year-old Bofors guns
in its arsenal to fight an enemy, the Rs 15,000-crore purchase of
the towed long-range heavy artillery guns has been stalled yet
again for the fifth time since 2002.
The field trials that were to take place this month have been
called off as only one bidder was left after the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) asked the Defence Ministry last week to
blacklist the only competitor, Singapore Technologies Kinetics, and
three other foreign companies.
Once tested, the guns were to undergo final trials in the Pokhran
range in Rajasthan in peak summer and near Kargil in peak
winter.
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony was quick to stop the trials, as
the lone bidder left was no one else but the new avatar of the
Swedish gun maker, Bofors.
He obviously dreads to touch Bofors even with a barge pole as it
haunts the party men with memories of how the kickbacks of Rs 640
million allegedly paid by the Swedish firm in the deal during late
Rajiv Gandhi's regime brought down the Congress government.
The issue of the Bofors kickbacks apart, the Defence Ministry rules
also do not permit purchases if there is only one vendor selling
the equipment. BAE Land Systems that now owns the Swedish firm
manufacturing the Bofors guns had tied up with Mahindra to bid for
1,580 howitzers of 155mm/52calibre.
The Singapore Technologies Kinetics that had tied with Indian firm
Punj Lloyds had sought some more time to re-calibrate its gun to
adapt to the Indian Army's condition that the guns should fire the
ammunition produced in India, but it is now out of race after the
CBI sought it to be blacklisted for alleged corrupt practices.
iftikhar gilani
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