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Tender for helicopters scrapped

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday scrapped the tender to import about 200 helicopters, worth Rs. 17,000 crore, after the successful company was found to have deviated from the set procedure.

The helicopters were to replace the light observation Cheetah and Chetak helicopters used by the Army for reconnaissance and dropping of supplies to soldiers at extremely high altitude posts.

Of the three companies in the fray, the bid by the Russians was rejected outright as they wanted time to put up their prototype for trials.

U.S. company Bell was knocked out during technical tests, stirring a flurry of protests by the Americans.

The sole company left in the fray, Eurocopter, was believed to have fielded a machine during some of the trials, which was not the one specified by the Army.

There were also allegations of Eurocopter having vitiated the selection process. But the company has denied the charge.

The decision to jettison the six-year-old selection process will mean that the Army will have to continue with its French-origin helicopters, first purchased over four decades ago.

Any fresh tender will be a time-consuming process, as several other companies would like to enter the fray.

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