BackGovt plans ombudsman for aviation organizations
Aviation minister wants ombudsman to start with organizations that are directly under the ministry
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New Delhi: The aviation ministry has decided to set up a single watchdog for Air India Ltd, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI), following a recent collision between a SpiceJet Boeing and a buffalo on a runway and complaints by pilots related to their licences.
Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has moved a note internally ordering the creation of a new ombudsman.
“There is a practice of appointment of ombudsman in some of the ministries and departments in the government of India e.g. income-tax department, insurance, etc., who is assigned with the duty to hear the public grievances and give necessary directions to the administrative machinery for speedy redressal of grievances, wherever they are found to be genuine," said the 11 November note from the minister’s office to civil aviation secretary V. Somasundaran.
“The institution of ombudsman is a major step forward in timely redressal of grievances and for bringing about better standards by public institutions and organizations," it added. Mint has reviewed a copy of the note.
Raju wants the ombudsman to start with the organisations that are directly under his ministry, a possible indication that its scope could later be extended to private airlines and airports who have opposed the idea so far.
“The HMCA (hon’ble minister of civil aviation) desires that feasibility of having an ombudsman for MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) especially for the attached offices and PSUs (public sector units) i.e. Air India, AAI and Pawan Hans Ltd and DGCA may be examined in the interest of redressal of public grievances and for ensuring speedy delivery of services. Necessary action may please be taken in this regard and put up for perusal of the HMCA at an early date," the note added.
Crucial consumer-facing sectors such as banking and electricity have ombudsmen, but the proposal for an aviation ombudsman has remained on paper for the past four years, possibly because of pressure from private airlines, Mint reported on 27 February quoting an analyst.
Air India which controlled half of the passenger market till the start of the last decade now controls only 18% of the domestic market. The rest is controlled by private airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, AirAsia India, GoAir and Air Costa.
Similarly, since a privatization drive in 2006, GMR Infrastructure and GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd run big airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru which take the majority of India’s air traffic.
The aviation ministry has called many meetings of private airline CEOs and airports in the past four years, but has been unable to frame an ombudsman.
This time around the note was triggered by the 7 November episode where a SpiceJet Boeing jet that was rolling for take-off with 140 passengers on board, hit a buffalo on the runaway of Surat airport in Gujarat. The buffalo was killed and the Boeing 737 engine was damaged.
“We keep getting complaints from pilots about their licences not being renewed. A small airline was not allowed approvals recently for six months by DGCA and they lost ₹ 30 crore. Now this buffalo has hit. How do you address all these complaints. There should be some fear...some judicial body," said a ministry official who declined to be named. “We will get a retired judge to head it and it will be by an act of Parliament," the official added.
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