Army Aviation Corps, a wing of the Indian Army, has come under severe criticism in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India submitted to the Parliament. This wing was created with the main objective of contributing to battlefield success by providing guidance to field commanders in applying decisive combat powers. Additionally, the audit body has also raised eyebrow on the Defence Ministry for gross neglect of equipping the Army Aviation Corps with sanctioned strength of helicopters, their maintenance and replacement. It is plagued with 32 per cent deficiency vis-a-vis its authorized fleet strength.
It is a demoralizing report and the Defence Ministry will have to explain its position in the Parliament for some of its grave shortcomings. We never expected such an alarming shortfall in the number of army helicopters particularly when these aircrafts are required to render service in a long border running into thousands of kilometers. With two of our immediate neighbours behaving in hostile manner, we cannot afford to be complacent in providing what is of utmost importance to our security.
The CAG has found a number of flaws in the functionality of the structural status of Army Aviation Corps. The first flaw is that 52 per cent of the fleet is more than 30 years old. The effective availability of helicopters for operations gets further reduced to 40 per cent of the authorization owing to low level of serviceability of the existing fleet. Of the 181 Cheetah/Chetak helicopters held by the Army, 51 were 40 years or older and 78 were between 30-40 years old.
The CAG observed that ever since these were approved for de-induction (2002), 23 helicopters had met with accidents. Army Aviation Corps could not replace its fleet of reconnaissance and observation helicopters (Cheetah/Chetak), which are due for de-induction since 10th Plan period (2002-2007) onwards.
The second item coming under criticism of CAG is of the AAC failing to provide combat free-fall parachutes to the Special Forces for over a decade. The CFF parachutes developed by DRDO in 2006 could not be successfully productionized by the Ordnance Factory Board even after incurring an expenditure of Rs 10.75 crore, says the report,
It is callous not to provide the Aviation Corps with adequate number of parachutes and thereby put precious lives of our combat forces at risk. No responsible organization would do that and much less the Defence Ministry. The CAG has found serious flaw in 18 schemes related to acquisition of equipment, including helicopters for the Army Aviation Corps approved in the 11th and 12th Service Capital Acquisition Plan, contracts in respect of only four schemes could be concluded in the nine-year period so far. Cheetah/Chetak helicopters, which are due for de-induction since 10th Plan period (2002-2007) onwards, are still in service which means overlooking the risk for its pilots and riders. It should be noted that a number of the wives of servicemen had made representation to the Defence Minister asking him to ground the outdated and unserviceable helicopters because precious lives were lost in 23 helicopter accidents so far. The CAG report reveals that the Defence Ministry has thrice scrapped Rs. 6000 crore rupee worth tenders for procuring 197 light utility helicopters from foreign vendors for the armed forces and decided to allow domestic players to manufacture these helicopters. Whether the domestic manufactures have the expertise, financial viability and requisite infrastructure to manufacture the helicopters locally is a moot question. Of course, Modi Government wants to do away with the middleman theory that has brought defamation to the country and greased the corruption machine involving many big names in the country.
The most shocking revelation made by the CAG pertains to the unauthorized sorties made by the helicopters of Army Aviation Corps. The report gives year wise detail of the number of unauthorized sorties undertaken and cost incurred by the public exchequer. It also reveals the use of helicopters on holidays including Sundays and the usage when the ordinary road distance could be covered in just three or four hours. Even for as short as 20 miles distance, a helicopter has been used. In short, the report is a reflection on the handling of the important organization called Army Aviation Corps for 2011 to 2014. We are simply shocked on how this organization has suffered negligence, misuse and starvation of funds. Our Government claims that we are fully prepared to meet any challenge. The ground reality of AAC belies what is said in public day in and day out. This report is an eye-opener, and the Government should take full cognizance of its responsibility of setting the house in order.
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