The Hindu : National : Information Act to cover defence purchases: Pranab Mukherjee

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Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006

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National

Information Act to cover defence purchases: Pranab Mukherjee

Sandeep Dikshit

But files will be made public after a contract is concluded, not during the process

KEEN EYE: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee going round the Defence Expo with delegates at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI: The Government on Tuesday said all defence purchase files would be open to scrutiny under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. But the files would be made public after a contract has been concluded with the successful bidder. The files would not be made public while the procurement process was on, Mr. Mukherjee after inaugurating the Defence Expo here.

While pointing out that the Defence Ministry was implementing the RTI Act, the Minister said "if India procures anything from outside, everybody is entitled to know whether the rules were followed. But during the contractual process, we can't make the bids made by companies open. After the selection is over, we can of course make it public."

Even without the RTI Act, the selection was open to public scrutiny by MPs who put queries in Parliament to the Minister about various purchase decisions, he said.

A controversy arose over the implementation of the RTI Act after Chief of Army Staff J.J. Singh issued a circular in December last year directing officials to withhold the furnishing of information under the Right to Information Act till the Defence Ministry considered the Army's plea to exempt the three armed services from its purview on certain issues. However, Gen. Singh withdrew the circular after a couple of days.

Summary dismissal

On another controversy concerning the summary dismissal of three naval officers for allegedly passing on confidential information to outsiders, Mr. Mukherjee maintained that procedures were followed. "I am fully aware of the case and due procedures were followed. The matter is now in court and it is up to the court to decide on the matter. The question is what type of action was taken at different levels at the service headquarters and the Defence Ministry. At every stage action was taken as per rules," he said.

In October last year, the Navy dispensed with court martial proceedings and invoked the rarely used "Presidential pleasure doctrine' to dismiss three middle-ranking officers. The Navy had contended that a trial and their presence in service would have posed further security hazards."

These officers have since gone to court contending that they were not heard before being sacked. Asked why the Navy had not replied to the court's summons so far, Mr. Mukherjee said, "the court is competent to make the Navy follow its orders. If that does not happen, I will get a contempt notice."

Addressing the concerns of the industry, Mr. Mukherjee said he had no ideological barriers but ruled out privatisation of existing defence public sector undertakings and ordnance factories.

At the same time, he said the Government was committed to opening up the defence production to the private sector.

"At one time, we thought nationalisation was the only panacea. Today some have started believing that privatisation is the only way to advance. That means a 180-degree turn. We do not want that. The thrust areas in our defence purchase policy are competition, quality and accountability," he explained.

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