Tag Archives: Express

MoD Seeks Report on DRDO Contract Staff

By Pradip R Sagar Published: 17th May 2015 06:00 AM -The New Indian Express
NEW DELHI: Taking cognisance of Express report, which highlighted that a huge number of contractual employees in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were posing a threat to the defence secrets in the wake of a few espionage cases coming to light, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has sought a detailed report from the premier defence research agency.

The April 27 report had said the agency had a strength of more than 50,000 temporary or casual employees, who had complete access to all its classified and research activities.

Alarmed over the issue raised by Express, Defence Secretary R K Mathur, who is holding additional charge of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, has sought a detailed report through an internal note issued on May 8 to Director Generals of all the Defence Research and Development Organisation establishments.

“It is therefore requested that requisite inputs in respect of all hired/ contractual employees in your cluster/laboratories and departments along with duration of employment, payment details, functional justification and copy of the relevant authority letter be furnished to the department by June 5 for further necessary action,” Major General Ajay Gupta, Director Vigilance and Security, said in the internal missive on the directions of the Defence Secretary.

These contractual employees are not only involved in every step of design and development of projects, but also in trials. Over 55 laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, mandated to develop products and technologies to modernise Armed Forces ranging from missiles to combat aircraft, have roped in over these casual employees to assist scientists.sunday standard 17 may 2015

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CVO,DRDO

The initiation taken by website cooruptionindrdo.com on the issue

To                                                                                                             27th April 2015     Hon’ble Shri Manohar Parrikar,                                                                                       Defence Minister,Room No -104,                                                                                     South Block, New Delhi-110011

SUBJECT:  DEFENCE SECRET IN DANGER, DIRECTOR, DRL, DRDO TEZPUR’s DIRECTOR SECRETARIAT MANAGED BY CONTRACTUAL LABOUR AS PERSONNEL SECRETARY

Sir,                                                                                                                                                                Yesterday (26th April 2015) The Sunday Standard first page news was “Defence Secret is in Danger”

In this reference, DRDO having lot of examples, DRDO is only one department where you can find contractual manpower above age of 70 or below 18 years. People may be think that because of their high skill expertise DRDO might been engage such manpower,  but matter of fact this practice adopted DRDO is only for those who are having good number of secrets or having evidences of wrong doings of DRDO bosses.

In ASL you will find people working since last more than 10 years after retirements, scientists, Technical Officers, who are experts in manpower/ logistic manipulations while missile firing, even JCDA retired account officer etc who are expertise in bill clearance from CDA. These specialized contractual having good assets that can be verified by agencies.

One major observation on these contract appointments is the not following the proper police verification.

ACEM, Nasik campus one murder was done by a contract’s man who has criminal records.

HEMRL GOCO contract labor business, the police verification was done on single list basis one stamp of Thana solved the problem and best part of this these hundreds of contract labours handle the high class explosive TATB.

For example in ADE, DRDO. Bangalore more than 170 B.Tech contract employees are working in core area for mare Rs 12000 and same time scientists who are getting hefty salaries Rs 80000 to 1.5 Lakhs are looking stores /admin /horticulture /works / security /Library etc

This Mail received by website www.corruptioninddo.com on Thu, 30 Oct 2014 01:19:10  IP: 49.206.192.222

HELLO SIR
all of us know about DRDL it is a dream job org to every one. but please think about contract employees. My husband is also working in DRDO RCI he is engineering graduate. From past 2 years he is working but he is getting 14k. how we can Liv with family in Hyderabad and this year no increments… we are not dreaming about permanent  job….. my small wish is to get better pay… for the same job a permanent employee getting nearly 4ok but contract employee getting only 12+.but work is same for both. am not asking to give 4o to contract people just i want to say please provide increments at least…this is not only my wish… i hope u can think & talk about this……….

if i made any mistake please excuse me….. Defence Minister Sir, hope you will take this above mail seriously

Following one example case of DRL, DRDO, Tezpur for your sharp analysis of this DRDO’s contract business.

  1. Sh.M.L. Roy is an ex-employee of Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur who superannuated on 31 Dec 2008
  2. He was posted at Director Secretariat as Personal Assistant/Personal Secretary to Director, DRL, Tezpur prior to his superannuation from DRL, Tezpur.
  3. Right from his superannuation on 31 Dec 2008, he was start working at DRL, Tezpur as contractual Laborer and posted at Director He is engaged in all sensitive work like computerized compiling of materials in Director’s Office, monitoring and maintenance   of important files of Director Office which has already been mentioned in his contract.
  4. Since last 7 years continuously working in DRL, Tezpur as Personal Secretary (PS) to Director, DRL, and Tezpur by means of several private vendors / supplier/security agencies.
  5. M.L. Roy is presently of 65 +years age and not fit for this job as in this sensitive post any private contractual labour should not be appointed while several young skilled manpower is available in DRL, Tezpur.
  6. DRL, Tezpur having permanent staff Sh S K Sharma as PS ‘C’ but he was not assigned the right job.
  7. Interestingly Sh M L Roy working for Rs 5000 – Rs 6000 only as Jan 2015 Salary was Rs 5764.00
  8. Sh M L Roy working as mole for vendors, each and every file of procurements / recruitments/ transfer postings/temporary duties etc. moves from Director’s office.

Sir, it is requested kindly order for extensive survey of to explore the necessity of this contract business in DRDO. Because like Director, DEAL Sh R C Agarwal used these contract labour for kitchen gardening, to clean utensils, to wash his wife’s petticoats etc, when this issue published on website Sh R C Agarwal stopped using these labours. This British legacy are maintaining by DRDO directors and senior officers. I am enclosing two photographs of a contract labour is busy to wash his boss personal car in DRL, Tezpur campus

Jai hind

Prabhu Dandriyal,
21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun-248008                                                                                 Phone 0135- 2787750, Mobile- 9411114879,                                                                                 e-mail id prabhudoon@gmail.com  website www.corruptionindrdo.com

Enclosed    1.    DRL, Tezpur, contract bills in respect Sh M.L. Roy                                                             2.    Photographs of contract labour washing the personal car of bossDRL ML Roy caseDRL ML Roy case2DRL ML Roy case3

The i20 Personal Car Registration Number of RKR Singh is MN 01W 6847

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Jairam Ramesh’s pet project ‘Bio-toilet’ stands abandoned in Odisha

By Hemant Kumar Rout – BALASORE/BHADRAK Published: 14th August 2012 11:45 AM
Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Rameshs’s ‘India Dream’ to free the country – the rural populace in particular – from open defecation, seems to have faced a setback with people unwilling to use DRDO made Bio-toilets raising a stink.

Villagers have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. Express photo.
Villagers have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. Express photo.

After launching the bio-digesters in Odisha’s Dhamra village, close to Wheeler Island from where India test fires its all long range missiles, the Minister on June 24 even called it no less important than the Agni missiles. Today, the bio-toilets stand abandoned.  The villages are reluctant to use it claiming that they lack required facilities.

The e-age toilets were formally launched at a glittering function by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Dhamra in Bhadrak district.

The toilets are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation, says villagers. PTI photo
The toilets are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation, says villagers. PTI photo

While initially at least six bio-toilets, christened as eco-friendly loo (ELoo) were installed in five villages in Dhamra and Basudevpur areas, the DRDO had assured to install more such toilets along the 90-km Jamjhadi-Dhamra stretch. Though the DRDO claimed that these toilets were opened for public use after their successful trials in Siachen and Jammu and Kashmir, people here are not ready to buy it.

Malati Majhi, a villager from Dhamra said the toilet installed in the village lacks water supply and proper ventilation. “It does not have a window or a space for ventilation. As the inside area is inadequate, it is difficult to sit there. The toilet was used only for a couple of days after their installation. We don’t use it now for its stinking smell,” she said.

The Minister too had expressed his dissatisfaction over the lack of ventilation facilities in these toilets during the inauguration. The loos are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation as these are fully covered with fiber body.

The technology used to develop the bio-toilets is anaerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with small volumes of flush water. This is usually a better process than the aerobic decomposition, which requires supply of oxygen either as compressed air or by agitation and process culminates into water and CO2.

The Bio-digester technology has been developed by Gwalior based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) which claimed the ELoos can effectively function in extreme conditions and temperature ranging from – 6 degree C to 50 degree C.

As per the claims of the DRDO, there is a bio-digester underneath where the temperature is maintained at 5 to 30 degree Celsius and the Psychrophile bacteria break down the waste. There is no foul smell, disease-carrying organisms or solid matter. The bio-gas is released into the air continuously and the residual liquid can be drained without any ill effect.

A local Bikartan Behera said no such degradation is done here. “Every time bad smell is coming out from the toilet making it unviable for use. People have to carry water from a faraway place to use the toilet, which is not possible always. The facilitator needs to equip the toilet with water supply,” he said.

The villagers also have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. A retired defence employee N K Sahu said the bio-toilets were first tried between 1993 and 1998. However, systems failed because of foul smell, breeding of cockroaches and flies, maintenance requirement, need for daily addition of bio-enzymes.

“But now though the DRDO claims to have used the bacteria Psychrophile in the toilets, but the loos should be made user friendly with spaces for ventilation and round-the-clock water supply. Or else it would be left unused,” he said.

Local defence officials though admitted the shortcomings in these toilets, but none agreed to comment on it. They said all the problems would be sorted out soon and more toilets installed in the area to curb the habit of open defecation.

DRDO Refuses to Divulge Information on Hi-tech Chariot

By Pradip R Sagar Published: 29th December 2014 05:59 -Indian Express

NEW DELHI: The DRDO has refused to give out any information regarding making of a ‘chariot’ for a religious function.

The Express, in its report on dated 23 November, had exposed that a Pune-based DRDO laboratory Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) had developed and donated a hi-tech chariot to a temple.

DRDO-Chariot
DRDO’s Hi-Tech Chariot

This shocking piece of information came out after a young scientist of the same laboratory decided to rebel against this absurd venture and moved the Bombay high court and even the CVC. The DRDO developed the hi-tech chariot and ‘donated’ it to Alandi Temple, Pune.
The young scientist had to pay for raising his voice. The DRDO has not only stripped him off from the ongoing projects, but also transferred him out from the centre, where he is being left to waste.

A day after the Express report, a former DRDO scientist moved an RTI to the Ministry of Defence for seeking details of the government sanction to the DRDO for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and allocated budget for the same.

But on December 18, the R&DE (Engineers), in its reply to the RTI, had stated, “The DRDO is placed in Second Schedule of the RTI Act, 2005 and exempted from disclosure of information under Section 24(1), except information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human right violations.”

The Section 24(1) of the RTI Act exempt security and intelligence agencies specified in the Second schedule to disclose such information. “This information, which I have asked for, has nothing to do with the national security and intelligence framework. But, the DRDO is using this as a shield to suppress information related to corruption in the organisation,” the scientist (identity withheld) told Express, who filed the RTI in the matter.

Dr. S Guruprasad, Director of the R&DE, Pune, had told Express that they had built this battery operated chariot in an year’s time and the DRDO had carried out the project under the head of the CSR. R&DE Pune has a mandate to design and develop Combat Engineering Systems, such as Military Bridging and Mine Warfare Systems, development of Field Defence Systems and NBC Collective protection Shelters, design and development of Weapon Launch System such as Prithvi, Agni, BrahMos, AD, MR-SAM and Nirbhay.

While numerous DRDO projects such as the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Nag missile, long-range surface-to-air missile and Airborne Early Warning and Control System have been delayed, and have cost much higher than their original estimates, expenses on such a ‘religious’ project have raised many eyebrows.

Bangalore: Ex-DRDO technical officer’s son held for killing scientist’s wife

Express
Bangalore, Mar 12: Byappanahalli police arrested the alleged murderer of a home-alone woman within six hours of the crime on Monday.
The victim Rajani Rajabala (60) was married to Amrit Packia Dhas, a senior scientist at DRDO.
The accused Vijayan(33) is the son of Ramanirutam, a retired technical officer at Electronics and Radar Development Establishment. Police said Vijayan, employed as a helper at an NGO, had incurred debts and was finding it difficult to provide for his family. He planned to sell Rajabala’s ornaments to raise some money.
Vijayan was acquainted with the Dhas family as he stayed at the DRDO residential complex in the quarters his father was allotted. An SSLC dropout, Vijayan later married a Manipuri woman against his parents’ wishes and was living separately with his wife and two children in a rented house at Agara near Horamavu, from where he was nabbed.
Murder for Gain
Police said in the last 10 days, Vijayan visited Rajabala twice and asked for `2 lakh but she refused to give him the money. He then demanded `60,000 a week ago to pay his credit card dues. As Rajabala refused to budge, he hatched a plan to kill her and steal her jewellery.
Vijayan planned the murder well in advance and purchased a knife before heading to Rajabala’s house Monday on the pretext of taking her help for a documentary. He told her that he was directing a documentary and one of the scenes was that of a woman ending her life over differences with her husband.
Police said Vijayan convinced Rajabala to write a death note in this regard and she wrote it in Tamil. He then blackmailed her using that note, threatening to kill her if she did not give him the money. He told her no one would suspect his role behind her death as she wrote the death note, police explained. However, Rajabala did not heed his threats and Vijayan slit her throat. Neighbours who heard Rajabala scream rang the door-bell. In his hurry to escape, Vijayan dropped the suicide note and stole her two gold chains, before jumping from the balcony on the third floor, police said.
Though he was injured, Vijayan managed to walk till the main road and took an auto and reached home. He told his wife he met with an accident and after changing his clothes, went to a nearby clinic. He gave the doctor the same explanation.
However, in his haste to flee, Vijayan left his two-wheeler at the DRDO residential complex as he lost its keys at the spot. Based on the vehicle’s details, the police traced Vijayan. He was taken to a hospital as he sustained multiple injuries, including damage to his spinal cord, while jumping off from the third floor of the building.

DRDO scientist suspended hours before his retirement

Express news service : New Delhi, Sat Dec 01 2012, 04:02 hrs
The DRDO Friday suspended a senior scientist, Dr Arun Kumar, just three hours prior to his superannuation for alleged irregularities in recruitment.

The Central Vigilance Commission had passed strictures against Kumar in August as well as asked the Defence Ministry to reconsider his daughter’s appointment as scientist ‘C’ by the DRDO. Another senior official, Dr Neelam Bhalla, had accused Kumar of favouritism.

However, an internal panel had given Kumar a clean chit in June 2012, stating that “no favour or undue advantage was given to his daughter”.

The DRDO spokesperson refused to comment but Dr W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller R&D for Life Sciences confirmed Kumar’s suspension.