New Delhi [India], June 23 : The Railways Ministry on Monday refuted the allegations of "conflict of interest" against Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in connection with the contract bid for locomotive manufacturing in Gujarat's Dahod and said that the tender process for the manufacturing and maintenance of 9,000 horsepower (HP) electric locomotives was "transparent" while clarifying that the bidder with the lowest price was awarded the contract.
According to an official release, "the tender for manufacturing and maintaining 9,000 hp electric locomotives was executed in a transparent manner. There are two electric locomotive manufacturers globally who have the capability to design and manufacture 9000 hp electric locomotives - Alstom and Siemens - both of them participated in the tender."
Responding to allegations levelled by Congress that Siemens locomotive India bagged the "biggest contract" at a time when the Railway Minister is Ashwini Vaishnaw, who himself was once the Vice President of Siemens locomotive India, the ministry clarified that the bidder with the lowest price was awarded the contract.
"The entire tender process was executed by the teams of officers who are technically and financially competent to handle such matters as per rules. There is no question of conflict of interest because the process was followed as per rules and procedures that Indian Railways has always followed. There is no role of the Minister of Railways in the tender evaluation process. From 2016 onwards, Railway Ministers ceased to approve tenders. All approvals are handled by empowered Railway Board Members and zonal units, ensuring complete institutional transparency, neutrality and delegation of power. Moreover, both Siemens and Alstom have been working with Indian Railways for many decades," the ministry said.
Highlighting the evaluation process for tenders, the Railway Ministry added that a team of technical and financial experts evaluated the tender. Moreover, both Alstom and Siemens were equally placed in the technical evaluation.
"The price discovered through this transparent method is highly competitive. The contract is as per the tender documents. There is no change in the tender conditions," it said.
The ministry said that 89 per cent of the components used in the manufacturing of Dahod locomotives were 'Made in India.'
"As per the current manufacturing process, about 89 per cent of the components used in manufacture of Dahod locomotives are made in India. Railway component manufacturing ecosystem is rapidly growing in India," the release read.
The locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained at four depots - Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, and Pune.
This clarification by the Railways Ministry comes after Congress leader Brijendra Singh on Monday held a presser and said that Siemens locomotive India securing the bid for locomotive manufacturing calls for an investigation.
"There is nothing like the 'Make in Gujarat' that was promised. The manufacturing in Dahod is just assembly, testing and commissioning. The actual manufacturing will be done at Siemens' own factory," Singh said, adding, "We were told by the government that Apple has set up plants in the country, and phones are being manufactured, but in reality, they are just assemblies. Similarly, a similar thing came to light about Dahod, where only an assembly and testing plant has been set up."