New Delhi: In perhaps the first instance of its kind, chiefs of the Army and the Air Force will appear before the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to explain alleged discrepancies in ration procurement and distribution.
The chiefs of the three services - the Army, the Air Force and the Navy - have been summoned for questioning on the observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on alleged irregularities in canteens of the armed forces.
On Monday, Army Chief VK Singh and Air Chief PV Naik said they would appear before the PAC headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. "We have no problem in appearing before the PAC. We are following the directives of the Defence Ministry," Singh had said.
The Navy would, however, be represented by Vice Chief D K Deewan, as chief Nirmal Verma is in Indonesia on a "pre-scheduled" four-day visit which began on Sunday.
The CAG had said in a 2009 report that the Canteen Stores Department's procurement and distribution of dry rations was faulty.
Highlighting the irregularities in the Canteen Stores Department, the CAG had said, "The existing procedure for provisioning of dry rations failed to assess the requirement realistically. The failure was mainly due to systemic deficiencies due to which different quantities were worked out at different echelons applying different parameters...."
The report had said that the risk of existence of "cartels" affecting the quantity and quality of rations is too serious to be ignored.
PTI adds that the armed forces have decided to stick to their stand that their Unit Run Canteens (URC) are beyond the purview of the PAC.
"We still maintain that URC is beyond their purview. That is the basic issue on which I presume the hearing or questioning will take place. We have given our replies to them and let us see how it goes," Naik told reporters on Monday.
"We all must remember one thing that we all are sub! ject to Parliament. That is the system of our governance. Nobody is exempt," Naik added.
The Defence Ministry, which received the communication, advised the service chiefs to appear before the PAC apparently to underline the committee's immense significance at a time when the government is seeking to project it as a body as important as the Joint Parliamentary Committee following Opposition's demand for JPC into 2G spectrum issue.
Usually the Defence Secretary attends meetings of the Parliamentary Committees along with Vice Chiefs of the services. (With PTI Inputs)
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The chiefs of the three services - the Army, the Air Force and the Navy - have been summoned for questioning on the observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on alleged irregularities in canteens of the armed forces.
On Monday, Army Chief VK Singh and Air Chief PV Naik said they would appear before the PAC headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. "We have no problem in appearing before the PAC. We are following the directives of the Defence Ministry," Singh had said.
The Navy would, however, be represented by Vice Chief D K Deewan, as chief Nirmal Verma is in Indonesia on a "pre-scheduled" four-day visit which began on Sunday.
The CAG had said in a 2009 report that the Canteen Stores Department's procurement and distribution of dry rations was faulty.
Highlighting the irregularities in the Canteen Stores Department, the CAG had said, "The existing procedure for provisioning of dry rations failed to assess the requirement realistically. The failure was mainly due to systemic deficiencies due to which different quantities were worked out at different echelons applying different parameters...."
The report had said that the risk of existence of "cartels" affecting the quantity and quality of rations is too serious to be ignored.
PTI adds that the armed forces have decided to stick to their stand that their Unit Run Canteens (URC) are beyond the purview of the PAC.
"We still maintain that URC is beyond their purview. That is the basic issue on which I presume the hearing or questioning will take place. We have given our replies to them and let us see how it goes," Naik told reporters on Monday.
"We all must remember one thing that we all are sub! ject to Parliament. That is the system of our governance. Nobody is exempt," Naik added.
The Defence Ministry, which received the communication, advised the service chiefs to appear before the PAC apparently to underline the committee's immense significance at a time when the government is seeking to project it as a body as important as the Joint Parliamentary Committee following Opposition's demand for JPC into 2G spectrum issue.
Usually the Defence Secretary attends meetings of the Parliamentary Committees along with Vice Chiefs of the services. (With PTI Inputs)
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