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Railways target 80,000 bio-toilets in 2018, vacuum bio-toilets next in line A day after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealed that there were over two lakh complaints about choking, foul-smelling and non-functional bio-toilets in trains from the passengers in 2016-2017 alone, the national transporter said its target was to achieve a complete shift to bio-toilets in all the train coaches by December, 2018.

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Dec 20, 2017 09:55 PM IST | Source: PTI Money Control

A day after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealed that there were over two lakh complaints about choking, foul-smelling and non-functional bio-toilets in trains from the passengers in 2016-2017 alone, the national transporter said its target was to achieve a complete shift to bio-toilets in all the train coaches by December, 2018.
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The railways would not only install 80,000 bio-toilets in trains in 2018, but would go one step further and install vacuum bio-toilets, like those in aeroplanes — odour-free and choke-free, it said today.

A day after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealed that there were over two lakh complaints about choking, foul-smelling and non-functional bio-toilets in trains from the passengers in 2016-2017 alone, the national transporter said its target was to achieve a complete shift to bio-toilets in all the train coaches by December, 2018.

Ravindra Gupta, a member of the Railway Board, refused to comment on the CAG report, but said the ministry was planning to roll out the first 100 coaches with bio-vacuum toilets.

Ravindra Gupta, a member of the Railway Board, refused to comment on the CAG report, but said the ministry was planning to roll out the first 100 coaches with bio-vacuum toilets.

“These bio-toilets will be odour-free, will cut down the water usage by 1/20th and have much lesser chances of getting blocked. We will first install these toilets in 100 trains, then gradually scale it up,” he said.

The vacuum bio-toilets will cost the railways Rs 2.5 lakh per unit, while the present bio-toilets cost Rs 1 lakh each.

The Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will roll out 100 coaches fitted with bio-vacuum toilets, starting January 2018.

Initially, these toilets will be in the AC-I and AC-II coaches of select trains.

Gupta also said 22 green corridors were planned for 2017 -2018, while six such corridors were commissioned in 2016- 2017.

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Curious case of army donation to PM fund

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Press Trust of India | New Delhi/Mumbai May 14, 2015 Last Updated at 15:28 IST
In a curious case, the army has said no contribution from the salary of any of its personnel has been donated to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, a statement that comes four months after Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag had handed over a cheque of Rs 100 crore to the fund.

“It has been intimated by concerned agency that no amount on account of contributions from salary of any Army personnel has yet been donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

“The matter is under consideration,” army CPIO Lt Col Rajiv Guleria said in an RTI response to Dehradun-based Prabhu Dandriyal.

The photographs of the 67th army day event are posted on the web site of Prime Minister’s Office showing cheque titled “one day’s pay of all ranks of Indian Army” being handed over to Modi by Suhag in the presence of Defence Minister Mahohar Parrikar.

Dandriyal has now sent his RTI petition to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking to know what happened to the Rs 100 crore cheque which is said to have been donated by the army chief to the Prime Minister.

“When by March 20 no amount of contribution was taken from the salaries, then how did the army chief submit the fund of Rs 100 crore to PM relief fund. This is why I have sought clarification from the PMO by filing another RTI,” Dandriyal told PTI.

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Curious case of army donation to PM fund

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New Delhi/Mumbai May 14, 2015 – Business Standard
In a curious case, the army has said no contribution from the salary of any of its personnel has been donated to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, a statement that comes four months after Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag had handed over a cheque of Rs 100 crore to the fund.

“It has been intimated by concerned agency that no amount on account of contributions from salary of any Army personnel has yet been donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

“The matter is under consideration,” army CPIO Lt Col Rajiv Guleria said in an RTI response to Dehradun-based Prabhu Dandriyal.

The photographs of the 67th army day event are posted on the web site of Prime Minister’s Office showing cheque titled “one day’s pay of all ranks of Indian Army” being handed over to Modi by Suhag in the presence of Defence Minister Mahohar Parrikar.

Dandriyal has now sent his RTI petition to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking to know what happened to the Rs 100 crore cheque which is said to have been donated by the army chief to the Prime Minister.

“When by March 20 no amount of contribution was taken from the salaries, then how did the army chief submit the fund of Rs 100 crore to PM relief fund. This is why I have sought clarification from the PMO by filing another RTI,” Dandriyal told PTI.

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

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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.

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DRDO claim on LCA export premature: Former top IAF officers

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29 Jun, 2014, 1430 hrs IST, PTI
DRDO’s claim about being in a position to export Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has been dismissed as premature and unrealistic by former top IAF officers.

NEW DELHI:  DRDO’s claim about being in a position to export Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has been dismissed as premature and unrealistic by former top IAF officers, who want it to focus on getting the indigenous fighter plane inducted into own air force first.

“It is good to have ambitions but there are several miles to go before we can talk or think about exporting LCA.

“It is too early to talk about this as it has to be fist inducted into IAF before we take a decision on selling these planes,” former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said.

He was reacting to DRDO’s claim that it can sell light-weight multirole LCA to friendly foreign countries in future.

Krishnaswamy said DRDO and the country will have to be “realistic” as for exporting the aircraft. The country will have to make huge investments to create a new and big production line for mass production of these aircraft, he said.

The development of the home-grown fighter aircraft, which recently got ‘Initial Operational Clearance’ by IAF, has already taken 30 years at an estimated cost of over Rs 17,000 crore.

However, the induction is still awaited as IAF has not yet given the ‘Final Operation Clearance’. Production of the aircraft is estimated to push up the cost further.

Krishnaswamy said when it comes to exporting combat aircraft or helicopters, the seller has to provide long-term fleet support to the customer countries and “DRDO has no exposure to such fleet management practices”.

“We had exported some choppers to a country and one of them crashed during the national day parade of that particular nation.

“So, we should first focus on developing the aircraft for our own requirements and then think of other things,” he said.

Krishnaswamy said the first indigenously built bomber HF-24 Marut aircraft had to go through several modifications due to problems experienced in it even several years after it was inducted in IAF.

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DRDO regional director RK Satpathy stabbed by juvenile in Hyderabad

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PTI | June 22, 2014, 20.06 pm IST
Hyderabad: A senior DRDO official suffered injuries after he was attacked with a razor blade by a juvenile pickpocket on Sunday who managed to escape even after being caught for stealing a cell phone in the crowded Charminar area.

Regional Director of a Koraput-based DRDO unit R K Satpathy, who suffered injuries below his chest after the teenager attacked him with a blade, was immediately rushed to a government hospital and his condition was stated to be out of danger, police said.

A group of 15 officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had come to the city to attend a seminar.

Satpathy, along with his colleagues, went to the Charminar area for sight-seeing and shopping, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Zone) Sarvashresth Tripathi said.

Taking advantage of the crowded area, a 16-year-old boy snatched a cell phone from the pocket of Satpathy’s colleague Logaonkar.

His other colleagues and some locals immediately chased the teenager and caught him and handed over the boy to Satpathy, the DCP told PTI.

“After catching the teenager, who is a pickpocket and addicted to sniffing whitener, they alerted the police. Even as Satpathy was holding the boy he took out a shaving blade and attacked him and fled away,” Tripathi explained.

“The DRDO official was immediately rushed to a government hospital and his condition was out of danger,” the senior police official said.

The boy, whose identification has been established, was recently arrested in a chain-snatching case and for quarrelling with a local person, though he was out on bail, police said.

Hussaini Alam Police booked a case on charge of attempt to murder and other charges under the relevant sections of the IPC in connection with the incident and launched a hunt to nab the juvenile.

The Regional Director of Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness was on a visit here, said Ravi Kumar Gupta, Director, Directorate of Public Interface, DRDO.

The incident has nothing to do with “DRDO affairs,” he said.

Satpathy was rushed to a hospital. “He is out of danger,” Gupta added.

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Sexual harassment case: DRDE scientist Prabhat Garg surrenders -DNA

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Tuesday, Dec 3, 2013, 19:34 IST | Place: Gwalior | Agency: PTI

Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) scientist Prabhat Garg, against whom a research scholar has levelled allegations of sexual harassment, on Tuesday surrendered before police here.

Police said Garg turned himself in to University Police Station, reportedly after pressure built up on him by police and also his family members.

In her complaint, the research scholar had accused Garg of sexually harassing her during 2010-11 when she was pursuing her work under him at the city-based institution.

Police said the woman discontinued her research due to “uncomfortable situation” she was experiencing under her guide, that is Garg, and also for her marriage.

The woman suffered sexual harassment quietly till her marriage and also because of her career but when Garg allegedly did not spare her even after her marriage, she disclosed the matter to her husband.

The couple then reached Gwalior and lodged a complaint with police who in turn registered an FIR against Garg under sections sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.

Garg was produced before a local court which remanded him two-day police custody.

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CVC orders penalty against DRDO official

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ABHINANDAN MISHRA   Sunday Guardians NEW DELHI | 30th Sep 2012

The officer has been found guilty of appointing his senior’s daughter without following the due process.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has advised the initiation of major penalty proceedings against an additional director rank officer and his superior, a director, with the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). The officer has been found guilty of appointing his senior’s daughter without following the due process. The proceedings have been advised after a complaint filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was probed by the CVC.

The CVC has recommended the penalty against A.K. Bansal, who was at that time additional director (Recruitment and Assessment Centre) (Scientist F) and Arun Kumar, director, (RAC) (outstanding scientist). Bansal illegally facilitated Kumar’s daughter’s appointment.

The Recruitment and Assessment Centre (RAC) of DRDO looks after the recruitment and promotion of scientists in the organisation.

The CVC in its memorandum dated 23.08.2012 has stated, “The case has been examined by the commission. On facts of the case, the commission in agreement with MoD, advises initiation of major penalty proceedings against Dr. Arun Kumar, Senior Scientist, DRDO, and Shri A.K. Bansal, Additional Director, RAC.”

The CVC has also asked the ministry to reconsider the appointment of Swati Shrivastava, daughter of Arun Kumar, who is working as Scientist C in DRDO. “Further, the commission advises the ministry to reconsider the appointment of Ms. Swati Srivastava, daughter of Dr. Arun Kumar.”

“This is a clear case of corruption and misuse of position to appoint close relatives,” an employee of DRDO stated on the condition of anonymity.

Arun Kumar is serving as Director (Personnel) in the DRDO headquarters at present. A.K. Bansal, who retired in 2009, was till last month working with the Institute of Defence Scientists and Technologists (IDST), a registered body of retired DRDO professionals, which claims to provide consultancy, expertise and assistance to DRDO.

The DRDO had earlier tried its best to stonewall an RTI (Right to Information) query filed by an employee of the organisation, seeking to inspect the records related to the employment of Dolly Bansal, daughter of A.K. Bansal. DRDO, while refusing to allow the inspection of records, had said that it was an exempted organisation under the RTI Act.

However, the Central Information Commission rejected the DRDO’s contention and said that since it was related to alleged irregularities in the selection of Dolly Bansal as a scientist and there was no harm in the inspection of the available records.

When contacted, DRDO spokesperson Ravi Kumar Gupta said that the organisation follows a transparent and fair policy of recruitment: “It may be a matter of difference of perception (the findings of CVC). Decisions by RAC related to recruitment are taken by a chairman who is independent of the scientific advisor. However, whatever action is required to be taken, will be taken.”

Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne with DRDO officials during a function in Bangalore earlier this month. PTI

 

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DRDO’s Nag missile fails in user trials

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New Delhi: The long-delayed Nag anti-tank missile project of the DRDO has suffered yet another setback as its user trials held recently failed.

In the trials held in Rajasthan in presence of senior Lt Gen-rank officers from the Army and top DRDO officials, the modified carrier of the missile called NAMICA also under-performed, DRDO sources told a news agency here.

In the trials held at the Mahajan firing range, four Nag missiles were fired of which only one could hit the target whereas the remaining failed to do so due to glitches in the equipment on-board the weapon, they said.

Army officials present at the test-firings were not happy with the performance of the missile and have asked the defence research agency to come better prepared for the trials to be held in the future, they said.

The missile has been under development as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) initiated in early 1980s and is now expected to take few more years to reach the induction stage.

Sources said the carrier of the Nag missile called NAMICA — a modified Russian-origin BMP-II personnel carrier, also failed to satisfy the users in displaying its capabilities in water during the trials.

However, the NAMICA met the requirements of the user in terms of its cross-country capabilities, they said.

When contacted for his reaction, DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta said the trials were a “partial success”.

“The Advanced Target Acquisition systems with both the Gunner and Commander have performed well,” he claimed.

The spokesperson said these trials have “brought out certain deviations in the engine performance of the NAMICA BMP-II and those were being assessed by the experts.”

So far, DRDO has carried out more than 50 test-launches of the missile since it started its development in the 80s.

The DRDO is also working on developing the helicopter-launched Nag missile called the HELINA and its trials are also expected to be held soon.

The Indian Army has been awaiting the induction of the Nag missile for a long time now. In absence of any indigenous system, it uses the French-origin Milan anti-tank missiles and is also in negotiations with the US for procuring a significant number of Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.

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Defence ministry report slams DRDO chief

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Defence ministry report slams DRDO chief

14 Aug 2012Hindustan Times (Bhopal)

NEW DELHI: Defence Research and Development Organisation chief VK Saraswat sanctioned R2.8 crore to a mathematical society headed by him, an audit report has revealed. The report prepared by the defence ministry’s finance wing has also dealt with issues of transparency and shortcomings in projects developed by the organisation.

Defence ministry audit questions DRDO functioning

New Delhi: An internal audit report ordered by the defence ministry raised questions over the functioning of the DRDO and the grant of Rs 2.8 crore by its chief VK Saraswat to a society under him.

The report prepared by the finance wing of the defence ministry raised several issues in its review and the transparency of the research agency with a budget of over Rs 5,000 crore, defence sources said in New Delhi.

The report has questioned the grant of Rs 2.8 crore by Saraswat to a mathematical society.

The report has also pointed out that to avoid seeking approvals from the competent financial authorities, the DRDO was splitting the sanctions for its projects, they said.

It has also cited shortcomings in the products developed by the DRDO such as the Arjun tank, which has been found to be overweight by the Army for operations in certain areas along the border.

However, the DRDO said the issues raised in the report “are essentially in the nature of preliminary observations” and it was “vitiated by a faulty audit process”.

“Such preliminary observations are required to be formally issued and replies to the same should be sought prior to compilation of any report. Only if the replies are not satisfactory is the next step of making a preliminary report taken.

“In the extant case, the laid down procedure was not followed and to that extent, the process of audit stands vitiated. Thus, even before seeking replies of DRDO, presumption and baseless conclusions appear to have been arrived at,” DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta said.

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DRDO ‘develops’ blatant financial irregularities

Published: Friday, Aug 17, 2012, 9:00 IST

By Pradip R Sagar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA

The ministry of defence’s special audit has found blatant irregularities in the Defence Research Development Organisation’s handling of finances.

The special audit report, accessed by the DNA, reveals that financial sanctions are being split so that they do not require approval of higher authorities.

The audit carried out by Comptroller General of Defence Audit on the direction of defence minister AK Antony has found that key projects costing over Rs300 crore were tweaked by the DRDO to get them sanctioned without approaching the concerned financial authorities.

“DRDO authorities have sometimes used delegated powers to sanction supposedly new projects to complete the work taken up under ongoing projects, instead of going to the concerned financial authority for revision of cost of the old projects,” the audit report claims.

For instance, programme for development of main battle tank Arjun was sanctioned at Rs69.99 crore in November 2010. But the DRDO authorities changed the entire programme and split it into smaller sub-heads and several procurements were sanctioned under ‘build-up’ so that higher authorities within the system could be avoided. This shows that a coordinated attempt to avoid going to higher financial authorities, which is contrary to financial regulations,” the auditors observed.

Similarly, despite having a comprehensive five-year programme sanctioned for human performance enhancement in May 2009 at a cost of Rs34.56 crore, the director of Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS-DRDO), has managed to get approval for additional projects over the already sanctioned project. Such practice defeats the very purpose of making projects/programmes,” the report added.

Another project called ‘Product support and product improvement of NAG weapon system’ was sanctioned at a cost of Rs28.35 crore by VK Saraswat, director general of DRDO, despite the fact that the Cabinet Committee on Security approved similar programme was still in the pipeline.

Audit report also pointed out an unjustified cost reduction by DG, DRDO for a project for design and development of electro-optical sensors for air-borne platforms (UAV and Aerostat) at a cost of Rs49.82 crore.

“Director General, DRDO has reduced the cost from Rs70 crore as proposed to Rs49.82 crore so as to bring it just under Rs50 crore, which is his sanctioning power,” the special audit report claims.

Under scrutiny of accounts, the audit also found anomalies in facility for elctro-optical system testing (FACET). “FACET was sanctioned at a cost of Rs35 crore by DG, DRDO to create a facility, which is essentially required to meet the objectives of an already sanctioned project,” the report added.

The audit report also observed several split sanctions were issued for renovation of DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi while an unauthorised sanction of Rs49.15 crore to develop vehicle testing facility in Pune from public accounts mainly for civilian use was granted by the DRDO authorities