ISRO’s ex-Chief accused of ignoring Govt’s interest, in favouring private company Devas
The CAG has strongly indicted former ISRO chief G Madhvan Nair for breach of public trust, concealing critical
information to Cabinet, clash of interest and favouritism in mooting the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. In its report placed in Parliament on Tuesday, the CAG termed the deal as a “classic instance of failure of governance structure,” and observed that the officials, including Nair, ignored the interest of Government and favoured the private company
Devas, which was floated by former ISRO officials. “There is an expectation
that the Government should deliver a high standard of integrity in the civil services, public
institutions and public services. There is a need to recognise and deal with conflict of interest
issues so that the fundamental integrity of decisions, departments and the Government is
not undermined. This conflict is evident in the multiple roles exercised by Dr G Madhavan Nair.
As chairman ISRO, he appointed the Shankara Committee to examine the proposals of M/s
Forge Advisors. As Secretary, Department of Space, he submitted a note to the Union
Cabinet in which critical facts were concealed. As chairman, Space Commission, he chaired
meetings where approval to GSAT-6 and 6A satellites were accorded, the report stated.
The 73-page report castigates Nair for not convening INSAT Coordination Committee
meetings as its Chairman, as a result of which concerns of key stakeholders, represented
through respective secretaries of Ministries/Departments were effectively blocked off in the decision-
making process. Fixing the blame squarely on Nair, the CAG said: “The Department of Space, while
seeking approval from the Union Cabinet for the launch of theGSAT-6 satellite in November
2005, suppressed the crucial fact that it had signed an agreement with only one user ie, Devas and
not with different users as mentioned in the Cabinet note. The agreement with Devas was, in
fact, signed well in advance of seeking approval of the Cabinet (January 2006). The Department
of Space also failed to inform the Cabinet that GSAT-6 and 6A satellites, proposed to be funded
by the Government budget, were almost entirely (only 10 percent was set apart) to be used by
the private commercial entity.” Finding several fraudulent activities, the CAG observed that to avoid the need to obtain Cabinet approval, the Department of Space lowered the cost estimates for GSAT-6A
so that the Department itself could approve the project. The Auditor also blamed
the ISRO and Department of Space for providing “special treatment” to the private entity Devas in allotting best slots and frequency. Criticising the space organizations for favouring Devas, the entity floated by former ISRO
officials, CAG said that the Department of Space on different occasions revised the contract to help Devas get foreign investment of _575.76 cr without any infrastructure. Terming the murky contract
with Devas as a “Cherry-picked” one, CAG summed up: “The Antrix-Devas deal is a classic instance of failure of the governance structure in which selected individuals, some serving and some retired public servants, were able to successfully propel the agenda of a private entity by arrogating unto themselves, powers which they were not legitimately authorised to exercise of executive power. The fact that a group of individuals was
able to conceal facts and sidestep the Cabinet is a testimony of the extent of abuse of the trust reposed in them. This needs to be addressed.
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