Article Posted on : - Oct 25, 2009

A file photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): Parliament's Public Accounts Committee is scheduled to take up the alleged financial "advantage" given to a French company while concluding the Rs 18,798-crore Scorpene submarine deal.

The Committee, at its meeting on Tuesday, would go into the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to "undue favour to vendor in acquisition of submarine," Parliament sources said.

Defence Ministry officials would also give oral evidence on the issue before the Committee, headed by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh.

Bogged down by kickback charges, the Scorpene submarine deal came under criticism from the CAG for the delay involved and the financial "advantage" given to the French company.

In its audit report tabled in Parliament in July, the CAG came down heavily on the Defence Ministry for the nine-year delay in concluding the contract.

It also slammed the "undue financial advantage" shown to the French company, which hiked the price by Rs 2,838 crore despite the vessel's design being unproven.

The CAG report for 2008 had said Indian Navy's projected requirement for a submarine fleet was approved in 1997, but the contract with Armaris, a joint venture of DCN and Thales, was done only in October 2005.