Monday, May 14, 2012







  












The delivery of the six Scorpene submarines, which are being constructed at the Mazagon Dock
Limited, Mumbai, has been revised and the first vessel will be ready by June 2015, the government
 told the Lok Sabha today.

In a written reply on delivery of the submarines being constructed under Project-75, Defence
Minister A K Antony said, "The delivery schedule of the first submarine has been revised to June
2015 and that of the last submarine to September 2018."

The original delivery schedule of the first submarine was December 2012 and remaining were to be
delivered with a gap of one year each.

"Consequent to the approval of the government for revision of cost and delivery schedule, the
delivery schedule of the first submarine has been revised," he said.

The government approval for construction of the six submarines at MDL under Project-75 was
accorded in September 2005 at a total cost of Rs 18,798 crore and the contract was signed in
 October 2005, Antony said.

The "government approval for revision in cost of the project to Rs 23,562 crore was accorded
in February 2010 along with revision in delivery schedule," he said.

Delay in construction is attributable to initial teething problems in absorption of new technology,
delay in augmentation of industrial infrastructure at MDL and delay in procurement of items due
to high cost as compared to the earlier indicated cost, Antony said.

"Most of the teething problems have been resolved and various plans have been put in place to
 minimise delays," he told the House.

On transfer of technology (ToT), Antony said, "As part of TOT, a technical data package has
been provided by the collaborator (French firm DCNS). This will enable attainment of significant
indigenous competence in submarine construction in the field of hull fabrication, outfitting, system
 integration by the end of the programme."

Replying to a question on ordnance factory fires, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam
Raju said the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has taken cognisance of all incidents of fire
 and blasts in ordnance factories and put in place preventive measures to avoid recurrence.

"In every case of fire/blast, Ordnance Factory Organisation has conducted a preliminary investigation
and constituted a statutory board of inquiry with proper terms of reference to find out the cause of
such incidents and to suggest remedial measures," Raju said.

In most of the cases, it is noted that the probable cause of accident was either due to mechanical
failure of the equipment or due to non-observance of safety regulations by the person concerned at
that point of time, he told the House.

"All the remedial measures as suggested by the statutory board of inquiry are being implemented
within stipulated time after their acceptance by the competent authority. Stringent safety audits are
also carried out to prevent recurrence of such incidents," he said.

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