Vital installations available on internet: Govt to LS

New Delhi, Sep 10: The government today told the Lok Sabha that it was aware of images of some vital installations and sensitive areas available on the internet through two websites and has initiated steps in this regard.

The two webstes are 'www.wikimapia,org' and 'www.googlearth.' In a written reply, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Shakeel Ahmad said Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, provides the legal framework to deal with such situations.

Replying to a question on the Bofors and Soltem artillery guns, Defence Minister A K Antony said as per the trials conducted by the Army for procurement of towed guns, neither of the guns fielded by M/s BAE Systems and Soltem have succeeded.

However, General Staff Evaluation based on the trials were underway. As and when it is finalised, appropriate decisions as per DPP 2006 would be taken in the matter, Mr Antony said.

He said other guns of the same calibre are available in the international market. ''Whether they meet our requirements can be confirmed after trail evaluation. No time frame can be indicated for future action'', he said.

UNI