The employees of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which is regarded as one of the most distinguished labs of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), are up in arms against what they have called arbitrary transfer.
By ABHINANDAN MISHRA | New Delhi | 28 January, 2018 Sunday Guardian
The employees of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which is regarded as one of the most distinguished labs of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), are up in arms against what they have called arbitrary transfer of a scientist who last year was named the “best lab scientist of DRDO”.
According to ADE officials, the said scientist, who has been working with the DRDO for 30 years, is being victimised for not agreeing with his seniors who wanted materials for a project to be procured from a particular company, despite the said company not matching the requirements of the project.
On 16 January 2018, on the ground of “public interest”, A.P.V.S. Prasad, “scientist-G”, who was made the project director of the coveted RUSTOM-II UAV programme of the DRDO in 2015, was moved out of the ADE to another DRDO lab in Bangalore without any notice and without taking the permission from his director.
However, official sources said that Prasad was being pressurised to give his permission to procure products for the UAV programme from a company whose product did not match the requirements of the project and when he did not relent, he was transferred.
Prasad has been credited with making sure that the much delayed India’s UAV programme got the needed push. Within two years of Prasad taking over the project, RUSTOM-II completed its maiden flight, earning him the best DRDO scientist award in 2017. An angry employees’ union of the ADE has now approached Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to intervene in the matter. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, S. Narayanappa, who is president of the ADE civilian employees’ union, said that discriminatory transfers like this affect the morale of the scientists.
“I have been trying to speak to Dr S. Christopher (chairman of DRDO) on this issue but he is not taking my calls or responding to our messages. It was due to this that we were forced to approach the Defence Minister directly. Prasad is a very capable scientist which is clear from the work that he has done. His transfer, without taking even his director into confidence, is shocking. We are still awaiting a response from the Defence Minister. You can just imagine the kind of damage these kinds of things do to an official’s morale. He was offered multiple employment opportunities from various private corporate entities to head their division but he rejected them all,” Narayanappa said.
How many people who are corrupt in HQ, O/o DGs and simply loitering without doing anything are transferred or questioned. Many refuse to give APARs, what action taken? What are the properties held by Christopher and Ramanarayan? What are the companies promoted by them? What is relationship between CABS and Comavia company and how many supply orders placed on Comavia? How many of orders the Comavia has delivered in time? Whom Christopher is pushing hard to be next DG Aero as well next Director of CABS? Why is he visiting Bangalore every weekend on TDs? Shameless person has made DRDO as Dastardly Revengeful Doomed Organisation.
If a CBI inquiries made, all these biggies would be behind bars. What is transfer policy of DRDO. While some are transferred without proper reason just mentioned Public Interest, at least on Note sheet, it should have been mentioned. Where was the urgency or emergency to relieve him in 24 hours, but for the intervention of Admn, Prasad would have been sent out in 24 hours from ADE. And in DARE, was there any requirements? All this to safeguard their corruption as well to send message to honest and hard working people a message that fall in line or else ready for punishment.
There’s enough evidence against DRDO top officials if anyone see the dump file in CVO, MoD, to be booked unless government wants such people to lead DRDO and finish it. Now is the time Government looked into the affairs of DRDO or else close it.
Even today, in ADE there 5 to 6, scientists at the level of F and G, who come and go without doing anything and they don’t punch also. They are happy and getting salaries. No worries about any disciplinary action or transfers.
Even today, in HEMRL Pune all scientists at the level of E and G, who come and go without doing anything and they don’t punch also. They are happy and getting salaries. for fixing limited tender pet vendor so they are give money to fixing the tender all scientist own vendor setup and tender fixing racket. No worries about CVC/CBI inquiry any disciplinary action or transfers.
In VRDE also, Maj Gen Ajay Gupta along with Shri K S Hain & Shri K Kamraj have been found involved in misutilisation of government office and non-compliance to orders from higher HQs, yet such will full defaulters are shielded and given free hand by DG(ACE) & Dr Christopher (DG, DRDO).
Enough evidence have been submitted but no action because of “NEPOTISM”.
When asked through RTI, they are taking shelter behind the exemption under Second schedule, which is again wrong and amounts to making mockery of Indian Constitution.
I fail to understand the reason for protecting such parasites.
Till date nothing happened to LTCol Praveen for misutilising the Army manpower.
The list goes endless.
Director CAIR was hand picked by present secretary. Present director CAIR doesn’t have any technical knowledge or Administrative capability. She had never worked as an active member of any project in her life. She wanted to bend rules and favour her coterie. Under these kind of leaders DRDO will get closed automatically
that is why she has lost projects to other labs.
Trade Unions must go beyond labour issues: top woman TU leader -Amarjeet Kaur, National general secretary of the (AITUC) – Dec 2017, ET
“Trade Unions cannot limit themselves to only labour issues. The time has come for them to build bridges with other sections of society.”
A Scientists Association is being formed to fight APVS Prasad Case. It will be registered shortly and matter will be taken to the highest level. It has created confusion in all Scientists, Officers and Employees. Just for personal gains it is not right to demote and transfer an outstanding Scientist like APVS Prasad to other Lab. Request the Defence Minister to step in and Undo the transfer. Else the Association will fight the matter. Let us all appreciate that in science we should all agree that there will be disagreements. Vengeance is bad.