A decision to procure 197 lighthelicopters which have come under scrutiny over allegations ofdeviation from the tendering process was put off today, a movethat comes against the backdrop of a scam in another chopperdeal involving complainant AgustaWestland of Italy.
The Defence Ministry's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC),headed by Minister A K Antony, did not take up the issuerelated to purchase of the light helicopters for the Army andIAF at an estimated cost of USD 1.5 billion (around Rs 8000crore), sources said.
The sources contended that the issue was not considered asArmy Chief Gen Bikram Singh is on a tour to Japan.
The proposal to purchase the light helicopters has beenunder scrutiny after allegations that the conditions ofRequest for Proposal were not adhered to by the two vendors --European Eurocopter and Russian Kamov.
The DAC was to consider the report of a Special TechnicalOversight Committee (STOC) which went into allegations aboutnon-compliance by one of the two contending vendors with theterms and conditions of the Request for Proposal.
The allegations, mainly by AgustaWestland, were that oneof the vendors had made changes in the structure of itschopper by adding a bubble bulge to carry injured troops onstretcher.
There were also allegations about non-certification ofengines of the Russian chopper in the race, sources said.
For the tender floated in 2008, Eurocopter's AS 350 Fennecand Russian Kamov's 226 'Sergei' have been shortlisted whileAgustaWestland was knocked out in the initial round ofscrutiny for not meeting the requirements.
Recently, allegations had surfaced in Italy that bribes were demanded by officers involved in the trial process oflight helicopters from AgustaWestland.
The deferment comes against the backdrop of a major scamunfolding with regard to the 2010 deal for procuring 12helicopters for Indian VVIPs from AugustaWestland, withallegations that around Rs 352 crore were paid as kickbacks inthe Rs 3600 crore contract.
The 197 light helicopters are to replace the ageing Chetakand Cheetah helicopters, which are critical for providingsupplies to troops deployed in Siachen Glacier and other highaltitude areas.
Earlier also, a tender was scrapped in 2007 when it was inthe final stages of negotiations with Eurocopter.