Employees write to Antony on BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) embarks on its much delayed project – a new missile integration complex – its employees have demanded are out to demand a clarification from the Union defence minister A K Antony on the status of the company.
Though the original agreement was to set up a joint venture by public sector undertakings, the BrahMos management now says it is a private company. It was in March 2007 that the state government handed over the erstwhile Kerala Hi-tech Industries Limited (Keltec) to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). According to the agreement, BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company between the DRDO and the Russian government, took over Keltec with an aim to develop it as one of the leading missile integration and defence production unit in the country. The agreement ensured full employment to all the staff of Keltec. The company had 250 employees then. The Indian government owns 50.5% stake while the Russian Federation owns 49.5% in BrahMos Aerospace, which comes under the ministry of defence.
Keltec , spread over 15.8 acre prime land, with its Rs 7 crore bank deposit, was handed over to DRDO for a token amount of Rs 1. But it was subject to the condition that if the government of India withdraws from the venture or transfers majority of its share to any other organization other than under the government of India, the first priority will be given to the Kerala government.
“Recently,
BrahMos Aerospace CEO A Sivathanu Pillai has gone on record to say that BATL is a private company, violating the agreement signed in 2007.The state government had handed over a state PSU to a Central government undertaking. How did it reach private hands? A judicial probe or a CBI inquiry needs to be conducted to verify the facts,” said an official at BATL. “Though the BATL staff had written to the Union defence minister A K Antony , he has not responded so far. The minister and he should clarify the BATL status to the people instead of maintaining silence,” said Kanam Rajendran, president of Brahmos Employees Union. Even after repeated attempts BATL authorities were unavailable for comments.
Employees write to Antony on BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd
BrahMos chief clears air
While the BrahMos Emp-loyees Union has claimed that BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd is a private company, its MD and CEO
Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai has asserted that it is a joint venture between the central government and the Russian Federation.
“It was for operational flexibility that a company was formed, wherein only DRDO has the maximum number of shares.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony would inaugurate the Missile Integration Plant on Wednesday, where entry is restricted to the public, as highly sensitive missile technology is involved,” he told DC.
Dr Pillai had been the main force behind the joint venture of BrahMos since its inception in 1998, and it is now a world leader in the family of cruise missiles.
While 50.5 per cent of the shares belonged to DRDO, 49.5 per cent shares were being possessed by the Russian Federation, Pillai said.
Antony would be launching the component level operations, and it would take two to three years to start full-fledged opeatio-ns.
According to a BATL official,
the fuel and the missile would be filled at Nasik and Nagpur respectively, where the integration part known as S3 will be completed at BATL.
BrahMos is reportedly reeling under financial debt as the company is said to have incurred a loss of Rs 3.5 crore last year. Dr Pillai has denied it, saying, the company now has surplus cash, but the balance sheet would always show the accumulated loss.
“We are making a missile and it is a Government of India enterprise. How can a private company manufacture a missile here? During 2007, when DRDO and ISRO had refused to take over BEU, the ball came to my court in DRDO, and we took over the company”, said Dr Pillai who is also the chief controller, R&D of DRDO.
“
I have nothing to gain out of this. When I am trying to help the employees, they have misinterpreted my words,” said Dr Pillai.
BrahMos chief clears air | idrw.org
