Two EDs at ONGC in BoP scandal
ONGC executive directors Avinash Chandra and NR Gantayat have been issued 'show-cause' notices over alleged irregularities in an old tender to purchase 21 Blow Out Preventers issued in 2008.
"Chandra and Gantayat have been given a month to reply," says a source. Chandra, who is executive director of the ONGC academy in Dehradun, has been asked to respond to the notice because he was chief of drilling services when the tender was live.
Gantayat, an executive director in charge of hiring shallow water jack-ups, was the head of purchase and contracts for drilling at the time of the tender in question. But sources allege Chandra and Gantayat are being scapegoated by Shashi Shanker, ONGC director technical and field services.
"Shanker wants to keep his slate clean," we hear. "He is preparing for the ONGC chairman interviews." In June 2016, Shanker was cleared by the anti-corruption CVC watchdog of any wrongdoing in the same tender after facing temporary suspension as an ONGC director.
Efforts made to contact Shanker for a comment were unsuccessful.
