Govt clears Mazagon Dock for selecting Pipavav as partner for a joint venture

MUMBAI: The defence ministry has absolved state-owned Mazagon Dock of any wrongdoing in selecting Pipavav as its partner for a joint venture that was put on hold following complaints from rivals of the Nikhil Gandhi-owned company.

“The process of selection of a partner (by Mazagon Dock) was not done with any mala fide intent. Mazagon dock followed the due process while selecting the partner,” secretary (defence production) Shekhar Agarwal said.

Pipavav rivals, including L&T and ABG Shipyard, had complained to the ministry last month that the process followed by Mazagon to select Pipavav was not transparent. They had alleged that the state-owned shipyard had set no deadlines for submitting the proposals and did not disclose the evaluation criteria.