CAG: 90% of ‘indigenous’ ALH foreign
An overwhelming 90 per cent of the components of the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv — which is “indigenously” manufactured by the Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) — is foreign, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General has revealed. The Dhruv ALH is a “light 5.5 tonne class, multi-role, multi-mission
helicopter fitted with two turbomeca engines”, the design and development of which started in 1984. So far, as many as 90 ALH copters have been delivered to various customers.
The CAG report stated that “90 per cent of the value of material used in each helicopter is still imported from foreign suppliers. Even though the ALH is in production for 10 years, the company has not been able to identify alternative indigenous suppliers,” the CAG report stated.
The CAG audit also noted that the ALH, “Which was to be the successor to Cheetah/Chetak was found to be unsuitable for the intended multi-role requirements due to excess weight and limited power of the engine”.
The report also mentioned that the “weapon system integration version of ALH for defence has not been developed even after a lapse of 10 years (1998 to 2009).”
The CAG report also noted that the “company” (HAL) did not freeze the design of ALH keeping the development stage open despite the consultant’s report that freezing of the final design is a “pre-production activity for successful implementation of the project”. The report further noted that the “non-freezing of the design led to 363 modifications carried out in 34 helicopters till date (November, 2009).
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