RTI भारतीय वायु सेना द्वारा प्राप्त
किये जाने के शुरुआती दो महीनों में आगस्टा वेस्टलैंड एव डब्लूव 101
हेलीकाप्टर से किसी अति विशिष्ट ने नहीं भरी उड़ान रू सूचना अधिकार से
सामने आई जानकारी
एक आगस्टा वेस्टलैंड एव डब्लूव 101 हेलीकाप्टर की कीमत लगभग 300 करोड़
रुपैया है और भारतीय वायु सेना दिसम्बर 2012 में तीन आगस्टा वेस्टलैंड एव
डब्लूव 101 हेलीकाप्टर प्राप्त कर चुकी है
अन्य विवरण एवं सम्बंधित प्रपत्र संलग्न हैं
Shocking! “Nil VVIP commitments have been undertaken by AUGUSTA
WESTLAND 101 Helicopter from the date of procurement till 23 Feb. 13.”
attachment 1 :RTI filed with CPIO President’s Secretariat on 23-02-13
attachment 2 :CPIO President’s Secretariat transfers point no. 2(a-h)
to Ministry of defence
attachment 3 :Air HQ (VB) sends information against point no. 2(h)
that “Nil VVIP commitments have been undertaken by AUGUSTA WESTLAND
101 Helicopter from the date of procurement till 23 Feb. 13.”
Point no. 2(h) of my RTI query : Names and designations of VVIPs
including number of flights taken by those VVIPs with from & to
fetails of places visited ,who were ferried in the Indian Air Force’s
AgustaWestland helicopter 101 from the date of helicopters’
procurement to 23-02-13;
isn’t it shocking ?
were these helicopters procured only to receive kickbacks?
The Indian government had ordered 12 helicopters from Italian
defence and aerospace firm Finmeccanica. India signed the Rs. Rs.
3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal in February 2010 to purchase a dozen
three-engine AW-101 helicopters from the Italian firm Finmeccanica
AgustaWestland has already delivered the first three AW101 to the
Indian Air Force. All the remaining aircraft are planned to be
delivered within 2013.
The first AW 101 arrived at the Palam air base on 20 December 2012
while the second one was delivered on 22 December 2012. The Third one
reached india in December 2012 itself.
In August 1999, the IAF which is responsible for carrying out VVIP
communication task, proposed the replacement of Mi-8 VIP helicopters
due to severe operational constraints, such as, inability of Mi-8 to
operate at night and in adverse weather, inability to operate safely
at places in elevation beyond 2000 meters etc. IAF felt the need for
the replacement of Mi-8 helicopters as they were completing their
total technical life.A global RFP was issued in March 2002 to which 4
vendors responded. The Technical Evaluation Committee shortlisted 3
helicopters and accordingly flight evaluations were conducted. Since,
EH-101 of M/s. AgustaWestland was not certified for an altitude of
6000 meters, it did not participate in the flight evaluation. The
Russian helicopter Mi-172 could not comply with 7 mandatory
Operational Requirements (ORs). After flight evaluation, EC-225 of
M/s. Eurocopter, France was found suitable for acquisition.
On November 19, 2003 a meeting was taken by Principal Secretary to PM
on this subject. In the meeting, Principal Secretary observed that his
main concern was that the framing of the mandatory requirements has
led us effectively into a single vendor situation. It was also noted
that PM and President have rarely made visits to places involving
flying at an altitude beyond 4500 meters. In the meeting it was
decided to make the mandatory requirement for operational altitude
4500 meters. The higher flying ceiling of 6000 meters, and a cabinet
height of 1.8 meters could be made desirable operational requirements.
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 the reckoning.The meeting
was followed by a letter dated 22nd December, 2003 from the Principal
Secretary to PM to the Air Chief, stating that it was unfortunate that
neither PMO nor SPG was consulted while framing these mandatory
requirements. He suggested that CAS and Defence Secretary may jointly
review the matter to draw up realistic mandatory requirements
satisfying operational, security and convenience requirements of VVIPs
and also set in motion a fast track process for selection and
acquisition of the replacement helicopters.In pursuance of the above
directive, the ORs were deliberated at length between IAF, NSA,
SPG/PMO and MoD between March, 2005 to September, 2006 and the above
indicated changes were incorporated. The required numbers of
helicopters for the entourage of VVIP was further deliberated between
Air HQ, MoD and SPG/PMO. The quantity of helicopters proposed for
procurement was revised from 8 to 12 helicopters by adding 4
helicopters in non-VIP configuration for security reasons.The AON for
the procurement of 12 helicopters was accorded by the Defence
Acquisition Council under ‘Buy’ category with 30 percent offsets on
3rd January, 2006. RFP was issued to 6 vendors on 27th September,
2006.Three vendors, namely M/s Sikorsky, USA (S-92 helicopter), M/s
AgustaWestland, UK (EH-101 helicopter) and M/s. Rosoboronexport,
Russia (Mi-172 helicopter) responded to the RFP. M/s. Rosoboronexport
did not submit earnest money deposit and the Integrity Pact, along
with their Technical and Commercial proposals. It had been made clear
to M/s Rosoboronexport in February 2007 that this was a global tender
and hence every contractual clause would be the same for all vendors.
As no Integrity Pact and Earnest Money Deposit were received from M/s
Rosoboronexport, their Techno-Commercial offer was not accepted.The
Technical Evaluation Committee evaluated the technical proposals of
M/s Sikorsky and M/s AgustaWestland and recommended field evaluation
trials of their helicopters.The Field Evaluation Trial of M/s
AgustaWestland was carried out in UK and trials of M/s Sikorsky were
carried out in USA from 16 January 2008 to February 2008. The Field
Evaluation Trial team submitted its report in April 2008 and
recommended AW-101 helicopter of M/s AgustaWestland for induction into
Service. SPG was also part of the Field Evaluation Trial team.The
Staff Evaluation Report of Air HQ concluded that the S-92 helicopter
was non-compliant with respect to four SQRs for the VVIP helicopter
(Missile Approach Warning System, Service Ceiling of 4.5 km, Drift
Down Altitude and Hover Out of Ground Effect). The Staff Evaluation
Report assessed the VVIP helicopter AW-101 to be fully compliant with
all SQRs.Technical Oversight Committee constituted on 6 August 2008
found that the field evaluation trials, compliance to SQRs and
selection of vendors were done according to the prescribed
procedures.Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) was constituted and it
carried out its discussions with the vendor between 19 September 2008
and 21 January, 2009. While the CNC was progressing its discussions,
Air HQ, recommended inclusion of Traffic Collusion Avoidance System
(TCAS-II) and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) for all
12 helicopters and SPG/PMO recommended inclusion of Medevac System for
8 VVIP helicopters. These additional equipment were considered to be
essential for safe and effective operation of the helicopter in VVIP
transportation role. SPG also agreed to these requirements. The CNC,
thereafter, recommended conclusion of the contract at a negotiated
price of EURO 556.262 million. On completion of CNC the proposal was
submitted for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The
CCS considered the proposal in its meeting held on 18 January 2010 and
approved the proposal.In pursuance of the decision of the CCS the
Ministry of Defence concluded a contract for the supply of 12 AW-101
VVIP helicopter with M/s AgustaWestland, UK on 08 February, 2010.The
procurement case was, thus, progressed in accordance with the
established procurement procedure in a transparent manner with all
stages of procurement being followed meticulously. Security aspects as
required by SPG/PMO and IAF were fully taken into consideration. The
role of PMO which began in 2003 was to ensure that security,
communication and other requirements of VVIP security were taken care
of and the helicopter for VVIP use is selected on the basis of broad
based QRs.M/s. Agusta Westland has signed an Integrity Pact with the
Government. The validity of this Integrity Pact is from the date of
its signing and extends up to five years or the complete execution of
the contract whichever is later. Under the Integrity Pact, the bidder
commits himself to take all measures necessary to prevent corrupt
practices, unfair means and illegal activities during any stage of the
bid or during any pre-contract or post-contract stage. Any breach of
the provisions of the Integrity Pact entitles the ‘Buyer’ to take
actions against the ‘Seller’ which includes forfeiture of the earnest
money, performance bond, cancellation of the contract without giving
any compensation, to recover all the sums already paid with interest,
to cancel any other contracts with the bidder and to debar the bidder
from entering into any bid from the Government for a minimum period of
five years which may be extended, etc.
सुरेन्द्र अग्निहोत्री
agnihotri1966@gmail.com
sa@upnewslive.com
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