Source: The Sangai Express
New Delhi, September 09:
Comptroller and Auditor General of India has flayed Indian Meteorological Department for not installing or operating some of the approved Automatic Visual Range Accessors (AVRAs) at national airports, leading to a compromise with operational efficiency and safety of the passengers.
The CAG, in a report on scientific departments, said though installation of 12 AVRAs at national airports was approved in 1990, IMD could install only eight AVRAs till October 2000.The IMD incurred a total idle expenditure of Rs 1.6 crore on procurement and site preparation of uninstalled and non-operational AVRAs, it said.
Besides, non-operation of the AVRAs compromised the operational efficiency of the airports and safety of'the passengers, the report said.
IMD is responsible for providing meteorological support to aviation at international and national airports.
Increase in air traffic and induction of larger and faster modem aircraft has necessitated providing matching meteorological equipment at major national airports.
The CAG said that National Airport Authority (NAA) had requested the IMD in 1990 to provide instrumental runway visual range facility at 16 national airports by installing AVRAs.
This facility provides continuous measurement of vital meteorological data like wind speed and direction and air temperature.
The authorities approved installation of AVRAs at 12 airports - Imphal, Agartala, Patna, Mohanbari, Mumbai (RWY 09), Mumbai (RWY 14), Hyderabad, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai - during the Eighth Plan period in a phased manner, CAG said.
IMD placed an order with the firm BEL, for supply of AVRAs along with spares at a cost of about Rs 2.2 crore, it said.
However, IMD could install only eight AVRAs till October 2000 as it did not do adequate spadework.
Two of these AVRAs were installed in parallel with the existing system, CAG said.
Four stations - Imphal, Agartala, Patna and Mohanbari - did not have AVRAs installed till October 2000, it said.
The firm supplied seven sets of the AVRAs in 1993, but as the supporting infrastructure for their installation was not ready, IMD requested for delay in supply of the remaining five sets, CAG said.
The IMD incurred Rs 3.45 crore on procurement of the AVRAs and for preparation of their Installation sites.