Procurement orders cleared by Defence Min not army chief: BEML

After Gen VK Singh alleged that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe to clear a file related to purchase of trucks, state-owned BEML chief VRS Natarajan on Thursday said the procurement orders to it are issued by the Defence Ministry and not the Army chief.

The BEML chief said that after receiving requirements from the respective directorates, the Defence Ministry issues orders to the defence PSU for procuring the Tatra trucks.

"I am not aware of any such procedure which goes to the army chief before we are issued orders," the BEML chief said here.

On the alleged involvement of agents and lobbyists in placement of orders for the Tatra trucks, Natarajan said, "In last 26 years, from 1986 onwards BEML assembled manufactured, supplied 7,000 Tatra trucks. All of them have been done on single nomination basis, single inquiry basis."

"This type of equipment no body in world makes, because of its superior technological features. When I am the single vendor and there is no competition, there is no influence required," he said.

The BEML chief said that "There is no need for BEML to influence. Not a single TATRA representative has ever marketed the product (trucks)."

The name of Tatra and BEML was taken by the Army in a press release issued by it on March 5 saying that retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited.