Omar delays security equipment for Jamp;K

NEW DELHI, MAY 19: Speech secrecy trans-receiver sets used by para-military forces are critical for operations in Jammu amp; Kashmir. But...

NEW DELHI, MAY 19: Speech secrecy trans-receiver sets used by para-military forces are critical for operations in Jammu amp; Kashmir. But guess who is not giving beleaguered Farooq Abdullah8217;s state a break? His son, Minister of State for Industry Omar Abdullah, who for the past four months is not renewing the Directorate General of Supply amp; Disposal DGSamp;D rate contract which lapsed on March 31 for the Motorola sets which scramble telephone conversations.

The story so far. Para-military and state police forces in states such as Punjab and Assam have set aside nearly Rs 15 crore to purchase the critical equipment which is supplied through the DGSamp;D. Since it is on rate contract, all the forces 8220;mandatorily8221; buy it from the DGSamp;D approved company. For instance, the Border Security Force had set aside Rs 3 crore to buy the equipment. The para-military forces and the railways have already placed the order. The sets which are manufactured abroad had been imported by Motorola when the rate contract 8212; normally renewed automatically 8212; lapsed on March 31.

The contract was up for renewal well before that but when the file reached Abdullah he refused to clear it. Despite numerous reminders, the matter has been pending since February.

Abdullah8217;s file noting threw cold water on the entire purchase process. His noting, dated February 19, stated: 8220;If preparation for price chart is not possible and rate contract is for individual pieces of equipment then how is transparency to be maintained.8221;

In his defence Abdullah told The Indian Express: 8220;It8217;s their fault they haven8217;t done their home-work. I just wanted to ensure that they had considered some options before opting for this equipment. In any case were they sleeping, if it was so important someone should have told me.8221; He was emphatic about the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs had never told him that the equipment was so critical.

MHA officials do not buy this argument. They say the delay is deliberate. They maintain that the equipment was already on rate contract so prices had already been compared. Since it was not a new contract there was no question of doing a price comparison. And Motorola is the only company which supplies the high-security equipment in bulk. As far as transparency is concerned, the DGSamp;D process had been followed.

Significantly, as of now the para-military forces across the country are waiting for the equipment which scrambles Very High Frequency VHF telephone conversations in the air. Right now normal wireless sets upon which the trans-receivers can be attached are being used. Says a senior official: 8220;Militants can eavesdrop on our conversation with impunity since we have no way of even scrambling operational conversation.8221;