In a major policy departure on strategic matters, the government of India has signed restrictive clauses assuring Americans that it would not deploy INS Jalashwa.
NEW DELHI: In a major policy departure on strategic matters, the government of India has signed restrictive clauses assuring Americans that it would not deploy INS Jalashwa — originally the USS Trenton — for offensive purposes and will allow regular American inspection of the ship.
The damning expose is contained in the audit of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India tabled in Parliament on Friday, which has also said the Navy did not carry out adequate physical inspection of the ship, on which a blast killed six Indian sailors on February 1.
The government of India has officially maintained that it would not sign the End Use Verification Agreement with the US in the present format, which would allow US inspection of military bases where American equipment was deployed. The Indian side has insisted that it is willing to provide a certification but not allow Americans to inspect bases.
The Trenton deal seems to have violated that, raising questions of impropriety at various levels, especially at the military leadership level, if the CAG’s audit is anything to go by.
The CAG has also brought out that there were “restrictions on the offensive deployment of the ship”, under the restrictive clauses contained in the Letter of Offer and Acceptance.
The CAG has raised a series of other damning questions regarding the purchase of the USS Trenton, the American Navy’s landing platform dock which was renamed INS Jalashwa.
It is presently the second largest ship in the Indian Navy after aircraft carrier INS Viraat. Among the objections is lack of rigorous inspection, over dependence on the American word, and cost over-runs.
The contract was finalised without a “rigorous technical evaluation of the actual physical state of the ship and on-board equipment”, the CAG said.
“There was over-reliance on information provided by the foreign [US] Navy on the condition and maintenance history of the ship. Since the ship was still in use, no dry-dock examination could be conducted to examine the state of the hull and access key areas of the ship,” the CAG says.
And “ultimately, its seaworthiness was concluded on the basis of a visual inspection. As a result, the ship initially classified as ‘F8 ie, poor condition, requiring repairs’ at the time of approval was downgraded to F9: ‘Unserviceable — requiring major repairs’ at the start of the overhaul and refit activities.”
The entire contract for the USS Trenton was “in a hasty manner” — not only was the acquisition approved by Government on July 31, 2006 “but the contract itself was signed on the same date.”
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