§ Major GLYNasked the Secretary of State for India whether the dredger "Juiga" and a sister ship previously the property of the Bombay Port Trust were requisitioned by the Royal Indian Marine and ordered to the Persian Gulf for the purpose of dredging the sand bank that interferes with traffic proceeding to Basra; whether, having arrived at their destination, these vessels were left unemployed for a long period of time; whether on return to Bombay, never having been used for Government work, an offer to repurchase one of these vessels for £55,000 was refused in order to still further force up the price on account of the urgent need for using these dredgers on their lawful occasions; whether much of the pipe line belonging to the dredgers is now in Mesopotamia, and the pontoons being used as floats on the river; and whether the India Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Shipping, is now in a position to give an explanation of its action?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe two dredgers were purchased from the Bombay Port Trust in 1915, after they had done the work for which they had been built, at the urgent request of the General Officer Command-1156W ing in Mesopotamia, for dredging the river approaches to Basra. They were eventually found unsuitable and were returned to India, where they have been held for sale by the Surplus Government Property Disposal Board. I believe that an option to purchase one of the dredgers for an greed sum was given to the Bombay Port Trust, acting on behalf of an Anglo-French firm, but was not exercised. In other cases inquiries for various reasons fell through. The dredgers are adapted to special conditions only. One dredger has now been sold to the Bombay Government for £75,000, an offer of this amount having also been received from an outside source, and negotiations for the sale of the others are proceeding. It is understood that part of the pipe lines and the pontoons were left in Mesopotamia as they were required for use there. Allowance for this has been made in valuing the vessels for sale. I doubt whether further explanation is needed, as the Disposal Board, in endeavouring to obtain a proper price for the vessels, is only doing its duty.