Josy
Joseph & Rajat Pandit, TNN | Mar 27, 2012, 02.05AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Defence public
sector unit (PSU) supplying Tatra trucks to the Army says it doesn't have any
middlemen even as a senior government official said there has not been any
complaint from the force about the vehicles' quality.
Caught in the thick of Army chief's allegations about the Rs 14 crore bribe offer is Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), the Bangalore-based PSU that has an exclusive tie-up with the manufacturers of Tatra vehicle since 1986.
Army chief Gen VK Singh did not say in his latest interviews, who had offered him Rs 14 crore for supply of vehicles. However, on March 5, the Army headquarters had issued a statement saying Lt Gen Tejinder Singh, a former chief of Defence Intelligence Agency, had "offered bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited, which supplies vehicles to BEML".
Gen Singh had reported to defence minister A K Antony about Lt Gen Tejinder Singh's 'offer' when the incident happened in 2010, according to sources. The allegations bring spotlight on Tatra vehicles, a crucial part of Army logistics which are used for transporting both arms and ammunition and personnel.
"We do not have any marketing agents. Being a defence PSU, we don't pay any commission to anybody," a senior BEML official told TOI.
Chairman and Managing Director of BEML, VRS Natarajan told TOI, "We have also seen the media reports. We are not aware as to which vehicle the Army chief is talking about. BEML management cannot comment unless it is clear which vehicle he is referring to."
Tatra vehicles are manufactured in Czech and Slovakia Republics and imported to India through BEML. After further value addition, these vehicles are supplied by BEML to the Army. Over 7,000 Tatra vehicles are in service with the Army.
Reacting to questions if the Army had complaints about the quality of Tatra vehicles, joint secretary (land systems) in the MoD Rashmi Verma said, "As far as the quality of Tatra trucks is concerned, we have received no complaint from the armed forces. We did get some complaints about after sales service and maintenance, which were resolved."
Officials in defence PSUs said they were puzzled by the Army chief's claims. "At the instance of the Army we have been importing fully formed vehicles. India has not bought the technology from Tatra. From two factories in former Czechoslovakia we get vehicles, and 60% comes as formed vehicles," one official said. Another official said that BEML was the "only marketing arm for the vehicle in India" so he was "puzzled to hear that somebody is marketing it for BEML".
In recent times, a joint venture was formed in India called Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd, a joint venture between Tatra of Czech Republic and UK-based Vectra group. The group has a manufacturing base in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, but it is not clear if the trucks supplied to the Army are manufactured in this plant.
Caught in the thick of Army chief's allegations about the Rs 14 crore bribe offer is Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), the Bangalore-based PSU that has an exclusive tie-up with the manufacturers of Tatra vehicle since 1986.
Army chief Gen VK Singh did not say in his latest interviews, who had offered him Rs 14 crore for supply of vehicles. However, on March 5, the Army headquarters had issued a statement saying Lt Gen Tejinder Singh, a former chief of Defence Intelligence Agency, had "offered bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited, which supplies vehicles to BEML".
Gen Singh had reported to defence minister A K Antony about Lt Gen Tejinder Singh's 'offer' when the incident happened in 2010, according to sources. The allegations bring spotlight on Tatra vehicles, a crucial part of Army logistics which are used for transporting both arms and ammunition and personnel.
"We do not have any marketing agents. Being a defence PSU, we don't pay any commission to anybody," a senior BEML official told TOI.
Chairman and Managing Director of BEML, VRS Natarajan told TOI, "We have also seen the media reports. We are not aware as to which vehicle the Army chief is talking about. BEML management cannot comment unless it is clear which vehicle he is referring to."
Tatra vehicles are manufactured in Czech and Slovakia Republics and imported to India through BEML. After further value addition, these vehicles are supplied by BEML to the Army. Over 7,000 Tatra vehicles are in service with the Army.
Reacting to questions if the Army had complaints about the quality of Tatra vehicles, joint secretary (land systems) in the MoD Rashmi Verma said, "As far as the quality of Tatra trucks is concerned, we have received no complaint from the armed forces. We did get some complaints about after sales service and maintenance, which were resolved."
Officials in defence PSUs said they were puzzled by the Army chief's claims. "At the instance of the Army we have been importing fully formed vehicles. India has not bought the technology from Tatra. From two factories in former Czechoslovakia we get vehicles, and 60% comes as formed vehicles," one official said. Another official said that BEML was the "only marketing arm for the vehicle in India" so he was "puzzled to hear that somebody is marketing it for BEML".
In recent times, a joint venture was formed in India called Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd, a joint venture between Tatra of Czech Republic and UK-based Vectra group. The group has a manufacturing base in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, but it is not clear if the trucks supplied to the Army are manufactured in this plant.
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