Rs 100 Crore scam: Drone empanelment rigged in Andhra

In a startling revelation, the drone empanelment process has been allegedly rigged by the Department of Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh and its Technical Team headed by Dr Sambiah Angirekula has allegedly favoured two local firms namely Drogo Drones Private Limited and Vihanga Technologies Private Limited in the process.

According to a complaint letter to the Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, AP, the Vihanga Technologies did not have the mandatory Type Certification even after the EOI submission deadline, however they were selected. The complaint mentioned, Drogo Drones lacked the mandatory technical specifications such as the ‘Detect and Avoid Capability’ as per their certificate but was selected without any scrutiny. Vihanga Technologies is also acting as a Benami Company for Drogo with the sole intention to create an illusion of competition for the empanelment, alleged the letter. It alleged the trials conducted by Dr Sambiah and the technical team issued heavy restrictions on speed and battery recharging which was not mentioned in the EOI. This was followed with objective of disqualifying all companies except Vihanga and Drogo Drones that had a higher battery capacity, read the complaint a copy of which is with The Pioneer.

The other companies, as furnished in the complaint with more than 250 pages of annexure, were disqualified without any valid reasons stating that the drones suffered deviations from their Type Certification which is completely false. Moreover, the drones of Drogo in fact suffer significant gaps from the Type Certification as per the test reports they submitted. The battery capacity, life cycles are below the minimum requirements and their software is completely different from the certification approved by the DGCA, highlighted the complaint. 

“All drone manufacturers except Drogo and Vihanga were subjected to intense scrutiny and were disqualified without valid reasons, whereas, the firms that did not have a type certification and mandatory technical features were selected and qualified through a biased process. The project is worth Rs 100 Crore for supply of 875 drones which has been awarded through an unfair and rigged selection process,” said an industry insider.