Panel pulls up Govt for defence fund surrender

As a solution to the annual surrender of funds from the defence budget, the committee has recommended that the Government provide a five-year budgetary allocation to enable the MoD to effectively plan the utilisation of funds.

Noting that the Government set up the Defence Procurement Board for speedier purchases, it has recommended that proposals cleared by the Board be ‘‘fructified in actual procurement within a reasonable time.’’

The committee has also come down heavily on the MoD for being unable to ‘‘fructify’’ several such proposals including the Indian Air Force’s 20-year-old demand for an Advanced Jet Trainer.

The Committee has recommended that both options — the British Hawk and the Czech L-159B — be considered. The committee has also expressed ‘‘serious concern’’ at the ‘‘inordinate delay’’ in the DRDO’s Main Battle Tank project. It has pointed out that the delay in obtaining Government approval for bulk production of 124 tanks is a ‘‘serious setback to the process of indigenisation.’’

The committee recommended that the process of acquiring Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier from Russia be finalised immediately and its induction be ensured before the lone carrier, INS Viraat, be de-commissioned.

It has pointed out that the Ministry of Defence should have started negotiating for an additional aircraft carrier in time to ensure that the Navy’s operational requirements did not suffer in the absence of an air defence ship.

The Parliamentary Committee was also concerned at the shortfall of nearly 2,50,000 bullet-proof jackets in the Army.