FOR SOME Indian army generals, mobility on the golf course is far more important than operational preparedness, as the country’s comptroller and auditor general (CAG) has discovered.
Tabled in parliament last week, a CAG report has revealed that two three-star army commanders procured 27 golf carts by passing them off as mechanised wheelchairs for military hospitals and as track alignment reconnaissance vehicles (TARVs) for sapper units.
The ministry of defence justified the golf cart purchases to the CAG with the somewhat incredible claim they “facilitated the noiseless reconnaissance in close proximity to the enemy and helped in quick laying of track material”.
“There were no documents to show these vehicles were ever used for track-laying in operational areas,” the CAG stated.
It maintained that “public money” had been “mis-utilised” for a “non-governmental activity” like running golf courses by “misrepresenting facts”.
According to the CAG, two lieutenant generals heading the strategic Western Command at Chandimandir, 260km north of New Delhi, misused financial authority by spending 11.7 million rupees (€171,000) on golf carts, but clumsily disguising their acquisition.
The audit declared the first five golf buggies were procured in 2006 for Rs 156,000 as “motorised carts” for medical patients. Initially these were dispatched to various military hospitals in northern India before being diverted to several army golf courses in the area under an officer’s command. In 2008, this officer’s successor sanctioned the purchase of 22 TARVs for Rs10.01 million, which the CAG found were in fact golf carts.
Nearly half of India’s 180-odd golf courses are owned or managed by the military, largely by the army. A large number of officers are avid golfers, and their numbers are fast proliferating.
Golf has emerged in India’s military as a sport of professional mobility. Many promotions and crucial operational decisions are rumoured to be made on courses. Many young officers take up the game to ensure they get noticed by the brass.