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The Indian Defence Ministry is once again slated to favour the defence public sector units (DPSUs) in a contract for the building of the assault bridge “Sarvatra”, and sideline the private Indian players for the same.
The “Sarvatra” is an assault bridge which enables advancing tanks to rapidly cross over canals and water obstacles. While the “Sarvatra” bridge was designed by the private major Larsen & Toubro, in partnership with the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the contract is now being allotted to Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) as per the directions of the Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony.
While the Indian Army, as well as the DRDO, recommended L&T to be the main agency for making the “Sarvatra” assault bridge, the Indian Defence Minister has sidelined their views and nominated BEML as the nodal agency for the $34 million contract to build the first eight Sarvatra bridges.
According to sources, the Indian defence Ministry has been questioned regarding this issue and the decision has been put on hold as of now. The nomination of BEML for the manufacture of “Sarvatra” assault bridges has caused uproar amongst the private players and prime institutions like Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) may also get involved if this controversial decision is passed.
As for the state-owned BEML, it claims that it has been rightfully nominated as the nodal agency for the “Sarvatra” assault bridge manufacture because it has manufactured the Tatra high-mobility vehicles, on which the “Sarvatra” bridge is carried and that each of Sarvatra’s five sections is mounted on a Tatra. But L&T claims that it should be nominated for the contract since it has spent a decade in creating the structures and that BEML has had nothing to do with the engineering of the “Sarvatra” bridge.
L&T fears that once the initial contract for the eight “Sarvatra” bridges goes to BEML, the Indian Army’s entire requirement of 50 Sarvatra bridges will automatically end up with BEML and all the efforts for designing the BEML would bear no real significance for the L&T. Even the DRDO and Indian Army agree that L&T, and not BEML, must be given the contract. The price of the “Sarvatra” assault bridge is about $4.4 million.
The Indian Defence Forces have been denied the “Sarvatra” assault bridge for a long time. The “Sarvatra” Bridge will allow Indian forces as well as its battle tanks a quick crossing over canals and rivers that block their way.
The “Sarvatra’ bridge is capable of bridging a 75-metre canal or river in less than two hours. The Sarvatra will replace the East European PMS Bridges, which require 57 Tatra vehicles to bridge 100 metres. As for the “Sarvatra” bridge, it bridges 75 metres with just five Tatras.
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