NEW DELHI: The CBI has found a 1994 letter from Czech truck
manufacturer Tatra offering direct collaboration with the public sector
BEML
to supply completely built trucks at 40% discount on their retail
price, on the condition of doing away with intermediaries. CBI sources
said they had recovered the letter written by a Tatra AS official and were trying to find out if there was any sabotage.
Sources said that despite the offer of completely built trucks at Rs 23 lakh a piece in 1994 directly from the manufacturer, BEML entered into a deal with Ravinder Rishi-promoted Tatra Sipox UK in 1997, which was an intermediary, at much higher rates. CBI feels this was allegedly at the behest of some interested parties.
Sources said India had entered into a truck supply deal with Czechoslovakia-based Tatra in 1986 through its authorized representative Omnipol. After division of the country in 1992, the company got divided between Czech Republic-based Tatra AS, which manufactured 70% of the truck, and Slovakia-based Tatra Sipox, which manufactured axles and chasis. Sources added that close to the division of Czechoslovakia, there was chaos between 1991-94 when there was almost no supply and BEML, without any formal agreement, allegedly started procuring trucks from Venus, a representative of Tatra AS.
Sources said in the letter, the Tatra AS official also mentioned the "comfort level" BEML enjoyed with Venus, an intermediary. In the proposal, he suggested BEML enter into a fresh agreement with the company on two conditions — terminate the 1986 agreement with Omnipol and remove any intermediary.
Sources said the proposal was very much in line with the Defence Procurement Rules which said defence purchases should either be through the manufacturer or its authorized representatives and Tatra was insisting to do away with any intermediaries.
Sources said that despite Tatra not having any formal agreement with Tatra Sipox UK for marketing its products and the latter not being its authorized representative, BEML still chose to enter into an agreement with it in violation of Defence Procurement Rules. They said Tatra had entered into an agreement with Venus to market its products, while Tatra Sipox UK claimed to be a representative of Tatra Sipox. CBI sources said Rishi allegedly gave 50% stake to Venus in Tatra Sipox UK to ensure he was able to supply products of both the firms to BEML, which supplied them to the Army at a premium.
The agency, which found this letter during one of its searches, is likely to carry out another inspection of BEML facilities in Bangalore, sources said, adding that another BEML facility was inspected earlier this week.
Sources said that despite the offer of completely built trucks at Rs 23 lakh a piece in 1994 directly from the manufacturer, BEML entered into a deal with Ravinder Rishi-promoted Tatra Sipox UK in 1997, which was an intermediary, at much higher rates. CBI feels this was allegedly at the behest of some interested parties.
Sources said India had entered into a truck supply deal with Czechoslovakia-based Tatra in 1986 through its authorized representative Omnipol. After division of the country in 1992, the company got divided between Czech Republic-based Tatra AS, which manufactured 70% of the truck, and Slovakia-based Tatra Sipox, which manufactured axles and chasis. Sources added that close to the division of Czechoslovakia, there was chaos between 1991-94 when there was almost no supply and BEML, without any formal agreement, allegedly started procuring trucks from Venus, a representative of Tatra AS.
Sources said in the letter, the Tatra AS official also mentioned the "comfort level" BEML enjoyed with Venus, an intermediary. In the proposal, he suggested BEML enter into a fresh agreement with the company on two conditions — terminate the 1986 agreement with Omnipol and remove any intermediary.
Sources said the proposal was very much in line with the Defence Procurement Rules which said defence purchases should either be through the manufacturer or its authorized representatives and Tatra was insisting to do away with any intermediaries.
Sources said that despite Tatra not having any formal agreement with Tatra Sipox UK for marketing its products and the latter not being its authorized representative, BEML still chose to enter into an agreement with it in violation of Defence Procurement Rules. They said Tatra had entered into an agreement with Venus to market its products, while Tatra Sipox UK claimed to be a representative of Tatra Sipox. CBI sources said Rishi allegedly gave 50% stake to Venus in Tatra Sipox UK to ensure he was able to supply products of both the firms to BEML, which supplied them to the Army at a premium.
The agency, which found this letter during one of its searches, is likely to carry out another inspection of BEML facilities in Bangalore, sources said, adding that another BEML facility was inspected earlier this week.
These Trucks can be manufactured by VFJ, Jabalpur with out much problems, if MOD accepts. It is high time that MOD should review their procurement policies and encourage Ordnance factories by ordering all the defense needs and if they says that they can not manufacture/procure, then only they should give to De fence public sectors in future to minimize the corruption
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