Parliament's Public Accounts Committee slams Coast Guard for deficiencies

NEW DELHI: Parliament's key Public Accounts Committee today slammed the Coast Guard for a series of deficiency in the force including inability to achieve targeted acquisitions, manpower shortage and lapses in refits among others.

The Committee, while examining a CAG report of the Coast Guard, said that it was "perturbed" that replacement of aeging vessels in the Indian Coast Guard has been extremely tardy with the result that the force was functioning with ships which have outlived their prescribed life and were meant to be decommissioned but could not be phased out as replacements have not materialised.

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"Audit (2004-2010) found that 72 per cent of Fast Patrol Vessels, Inshore Patrol vessels and 47 per cent of Advance Offshore Patrol Vessels/Offshore Patrol Vessels and 37 per cent of Interceptor Boats were either on extended life or their extended life had also expired," the report said.

It also expressed unhappiness over learning that the Coast Guard, which doe snot have its own repair yard like the Navy, has not been able to ensure adherence to its prescribed norms for carrying out different types of refits of Coast Guard ships by 18 public sector and private sector shipyards where refits are carried out.