<p>Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland's representatives will meet Defence Ministry officials on Wednesday as the fate of the tainted Rs 3,700-crore chopper deal faces chances of getting scrapped.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the meeting, sought by the chopper manufacturer, the firm will have to explain why the contract should not be cancelled, given the corruption charges faced by them in supplying 12 AW 101 helicopters to fly VVIPs. <br /><br />The extended deadline for AgustaWestland to reply to a show-cause notice for contract termination issued by Director-General (acquisition) Satish Agnihotri also ends on November 26, and besides, the government has sought to invoke the integrity pact signed between the two that prohibits offering and accepting bribe. <br /><br />Ministry officials do not rule out cancellation of the contract, but the decision will be taken after exhausting the process of inquiry against AgustaWestland, a division of Italian defence group Finmeccanica. <br /><br />AgustaWestland has been desperately trying to save the contract. It had also called for an arbitration to settle the dispute, which the ministry ignored owing to violations of the procurement guidelines. <br /><br />The government has already blocked part payment to the firm since the controversy broke in February, when the former chief executive of Finmeccanica was arrested by Italian authorities.<br />Three helicopters were supplied to India before the contract ran into rough weather.<br /><br />The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its report had pointed out ways in which the contract conditions were manipulated in favour of the firm. For instance, the Defence Ministry wanted the copters to have the capacity to fly to an altitude of 19,685 feet.<br /><br /> Later, the condition was tweaked to ensure that AgustaWestland participated in the bidding, since the AW101 was certified to fly only 15,000 feet.<br /><br />The minimum-altitude obligation was eventually brought down to 14,763 feet, overlooking the requirement that the choppers were supposed to operate at higher reaches.</p>
<p>Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland's representatives will meet Defence Ministry officials on Wednesday as the fate of the tainted Rs 3,700-crore chopper deal faces chances of getting scrapped.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the meeting, sought by the chopper manufacturer, the firm will have to explain why the contract should not be cancelled, given the corruption charges faced by them in supplying 12 AW 101 helicopters to fly VVIPs. <br /><br />The extended deadline for AgustaWestland to reply to a show-cause notice for contract termination issued by Director-General (acquisition) Satish Agnihotri also ends on November 26, and besides, the government has sought to invoke the integrity pact signed between the two that prohibits offering and accepting bribe. <br /><br />Ministry officials do not rule out cancellation of the contract, but the decision will be taken after exhausting the process of inquiry against AgustaWestland, a division of Italian defence group Finmeccanica. <br /><br />AgustaWestland has been desperately trying to save the contract. It had also called for an arbitration to settle the dispute, which the ministry ignored owing to violations of the procurement guidelines. <br /><br />The government has already blocked part payment to the firm since the controversy broke in February, when the former chief executive of Finmeccanica was arrested by Italian authorities.<br />Three helicopters were supplied to India before the contract ran into rough weather.<br /><br />The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its report had pointed out ways in which the contract conditions were manipulated in favour of the firm. For instance, the Defence Ministry wanted the copters to have the capacity to fly to an altitude of 19,685 feet.<br /><br /> Later, the condition was tweaked to ensure that AgustaWestland participated in the bidding, since the AW101 was certified to fly only 15,000 feet.<br /><br />The minimum-altitude obligation was eventually brought down to 14,763 feet, overlooking the requirement that the choppers were supposed to operate at higher reaches.</p>
