New Delhi: Close on heels of arrests made in case of corporate espionage in petroleum ministry, the government has suspended state-owned ONGC’s director (T&FS) Shashi Shankar for alleged irregularities. There were allegations of “gross misconduct” in an unawarded Rs 23 crore tender. “Shashi Shankar, director (T&FS), ONGC has committed gross misconduct while dealing with a tender for procurement of twenty-one blow out preventers (bop),” said petroleum ministry in a statement on Tuesday.
Mr Shankar, who as the head of technology and field services (T&FS) annually handles at least Rs 15,000 crore of contracts for rigs and oilfield service. “Taking strong note of the lapses the government on February 23 ordered suspension of Shashi Shankar with immediate effect to ensure fair and transparent inquiry,” said the statement.
The tender, which was originally floated in 2008, hasn’t been awarded yet purportedly due to issues regarding technical competence of the lowest offer, said sources. Mr Shankar, who turns 54 on Monday, was the youngest director on the board of ONGC. He was appointed director (technical and field services) on December 1, 2012.
CVC will now look into the issue. Mr Shankar is the first director to be suspended since the explorer became a company in 1994.
