Railways hits back at Congress amid row over Dahod locomotive plant
Congress leader Brijendra Singh questioned the bidding process that awarded the contract to Siemens
The ministry of railways on Friday rejected allegations raised by the Congress about the locomotive manufacturing plant in Dahod,Gujarat, that is jointly operated by Siemens and Indian Railways.
In a press conference, Congress leader Brijendra Singh questioned the bidding process that awarded the contract to Siemens and whether the project would make Dahod an advanced manufacturing hub as planned. The Dahod plant manufactures 9000 hp electric locomotives for the Railways.
Singh alleged there is a prima facie case for a conflict of interest as Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was a former Siemens executive.
In a statement, the ministry said the entire tender process was executed by 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 involvement of the Minister of Railways in the tender evaluation process”, the ministry said.
The ministry pointed out that the two global manufacturers who have the capability to design and manufacture 9000 hp electric locomotives, Alstom and Siemens, participated in the tender.
“Moreover, both Siemens and Alstom have been working with Indian Railways for many decades, “ the ministry said.
Questioning the government’s Make in India initiative, Singh also alleged that in Dahod, parts are only assembled, tested, and commissioned, while the entire actual manufacturing of critical parts takes place in Siemens’ own plants in Maharashtra.
The ministry said about 89% of the components used in Dahod locomotives are made in India, adding that such components are manufactured at multiple locations in India and supplied to various locomotive manufacturers.
