New Delhi:
After Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa today accused Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of going soft on Ratan Tata in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, a spokesperson from Tata Sons came out with a clarification refuting all allegations.
Balwa's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal had argued in court today that the CBI is biased towards Tata and has therefore targeted telecom companies selectively.
Here is the full statement issued by Tata Sons:We are not aware of the contents of the letters produced in the court. It is a fact that Mr RN Tata was approached in 2008-2009 about a grant of Rs 20 crore from Tata Trusts for the Perambalur Medical College Hospital. However, the material fact is that grant was ultimately not given since the Tamil Nadu Government was required to spend Rs 82 cr initially, which it had not implemented.
In 2008, a request was received through Mr Sivasankar (Perambalur MLA) to partner the Government of Tamil Nadu in constructing a medical college and hospital in Perambalur which is a backward district with a predominantly scheduled caste and other backward class population. The letter also mentioned that several other industrial houses were also being requested to partner the State Government in its efforts. The request made to the Tatas was also in line with the announcement made by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in the State Budget for 2008-2009 in this regard. The Trust had therefore only committed support to the Government of Tamil Nadu on that basis, provided actual work to be executed by the Government was in progress. Since this was not happening, not even a rupee was given to the project.
In fact, the only help extended by the Trusts to the state of medical facilities in Perambalur was in response to a grant request in July 2007 to support the cost of upgradation of the medical facilities in the Government Hospital in Perambalur together with some taluka hospitals. A grant of Rs 8 crores was sanctioned against this request. Of this sanctioned amount, only a sum of Rs 3.26 crores was released by the Trust and spent by the hospital, towards the cost of a CT Scan machine and allied medical equipment to augment its facilities to treat the rural poor. Additionally, the CT scan and allied equipment are in actual use for the poor patients. As is the practice, the Trust had the progress of the project reviewed by an external expert. The expert reported slow progress on account of lack of infrastructure and trained technical personnel, and hence no further amount was released. In summary, the Trusts have given Rs 3.26 cr against actual equipment procured and installed.
The Tata Trusts have over the past several years provided financial assistance to many hospitals across the country to meet the cost of medical equipment. The driving principle of such grant making, sometimes in partnership with State Governments, is to ensure that poor people are able to access good quality health services. A condition of such grant support is that the recipient gurantee provide free medical services to the poor and disadvantaged sections of the community.