DRDO allegedly spent Rs 5 cr to build a chariot for a temple in Pune

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The News Minute | November 23, 2014 | 10:03 am IST The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has allegedly spent Rs 5 crore of its funds on creating a chariot for a temple in Maharashtra, states a report by The New Indian Express. The 'hi-tech' chariot, which contains 'copious' amounts of silver, was made during the course of a year and was donated to the Alandi temple in Pune in June. The chariot is battery-operated and can run for about 12 hours after being fully charged. It is made of carbon fibre which weighs around two tonnes. The creators of the chariot claim that the 'project' was made 'under the head of corporate social responsibility'. "Though most of this (chariot) was donated by private vendors and parties, we have not accepted money from anyone. Donations were taken only in material contribution,” Director of Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) or R&DE, Pune, Dr S Guruprasad told The Sunday Standard. The report states that 'this newspaper has learnt that there is no such budget under the head of CSR in the organisation to carry out religious programmes'. The DRDO's move however did not seem to have gone well down with some in the organisation. The New Indian Express reports that a senior scientists protested against the 'absurd' project and also filed a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The scientist reportedly was 'stripped off' his projects and even transferred out of Pune. Based on the scientist's petition, the Bombay High Court has issued notices to the DRDO chief, Defence Secretary and the CVC on November 14 and has asked them to respond before December 17, adds the report.

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