It does not require any guesses on the number of helicopter bases across the Line of Control and Line of Actual Control in the Northern and Eastern sectors of the border India shares with China and Pakistan.
The number 80 plus along with its name and coordinates form part of the tender documents the Indian Air Force put up on its website as it sought Request for Proposal (RFP) from public sector undertakings and private operators to ferry men and material across to these military locations.
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The IAF carries out air maintenance work for the Army by reaching personnel and cargo to both its maintenance and forward bases but the documents on the website not only earmark the bases under Northern Command across Jammu and Kashmir as Kishtwar, Chowkibal, Kupwara, Tangdhar but also provide the exact contours in terms of latitude and longitude and reference, a crucial input for pilots/navigators to home in. Similarly, in the Eastern Command the bases identified include Tawang, Taksing, Tadadage Point 4711.
Sources in armed forces indicated that the information provided in the open tender document should at least form part of ‘restricted' document in terms of classification they do for such material.
An argument advanced by officials in uniform, who preferred anonymity, suggested that most of the specific information made public as part of the documents was needed before companies send in their commercial bids.
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Moot point
While there is no denying the fact that the need to do away with opaqueness in the procurement process of the Ministry has been lauded, the question that remained unanswered in this case is how easily the information is given, especially, when as a matter of routine the Defence Ministry is extra-cautious while interacting with media on regular issues.
Another official said considering the availability of technology with search engines of zooming in, such longitude-latitude details are not difficult to locate by those with discerning eye. Yet the question whether it was necessary for such information to be authenticated officially making it easier for those seeking it, elicited no reply.
The latest RFP is the second being issued by the IAF based on the requirement of the Army after the first one got little response. Interestingly, a high-powered committee is understood to have cleared the proposal to hire private helicopters for such missions but it is not clear whether the specific locations that from part of the annexure were also meant to go with it on the website.