government owes rs451 billion to air india for vvip travel special missions
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Government owes Rs4.51 billion to Air India for VVIP travel, special missions

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Government owes Rs4.51 billion to Air India for VVIP travel, special missions

The Indian government owes over Rs4.51 billion to cash-strapped domestic airline Air India for
New Delhi - Arab today

The Indian government owes over Rs4.51 billion to cash-strapped domestic airline Air India for operating chartered flights for VVIPs including president, vice president and prime minister, besides flying special missions, data provided under Right To Information Act (RTI) said.

The information provided to RTI activist commodore (retd) Lokesh Batra shows senior officials of the civil aviation ministry besides Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju wrote to the authorities concerned at different times requesting them for clearing the dues of the flag carrier. 

The records show 31 letters were written by senior officials of the ministry between 2014 and 2017. The officials asked ministries concerned to ensure availability of maintenance funds, and making necessary budgetary changes for VVIP flights and other special missions undertaken by Air India but outstanding dues were never cleared fully.

Air India keeps three Boieng 747-400 aircraft aside for operating chartered services for the president, vice president and the prime minister during their visits abroad. It also undertakes special evacuation missions and provides other services for foreign dignitaries.

According to the data, Rs277 million was pending towards the visits of the president, Rs3.51 billiom for vice president, and Rs450.97 million with regard to the prime minister. Besides, Rs146.6 million was due towards services provided to foreign dignitaries and Rs115.9 million for evacuation operations. The bills for the president, vice president, evacuation and foreign diginitaries are pending with the external affairs ministry, while those relating to the travel of prime minister are with the home ministry.

The bills for evacuation of Indian citizens from Iraq, Egypt and Malta in troubled times, besides relief sent to the U.S. during hurricane Katrina in 2005 have yet to be cleared by the MEA, the reply shows.

The government had claimed Air India had posted an operating profit of Rs1.05 billion in FY 2015-16, but the Comptroller and Auditor General disputed the figure, insisting it incurred a loss of Rs3.21 billion. This year, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry Satyendra Mishra wrote to the home ministry seeking payment of Rs459.7 million on account of dues for the flights of the prime minister.

"Air India has shortage of cash flow and is unable to meet its various financial obligations. So, I shall be grateful if you could kindly look into the matter personally to ensure that the outstanding dues of AI are cleared at the earliest," Mishra's letter dated April 6, 2017 to additional secretary, home ministry, said.

Similar letters were also sent to the MEA and the defence ministry seeking clearance of bills for the VVIP visits, operations and maintenance. The records show that Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had to intervene in a bid to recover the dues.

In his letter dated December 21, 2015 to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Raju said Air India is operating under a 'Turn Around Plan' and 'Financial Restructuring Plan' approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to shore up its revenues. "However, despite improvement in many of its parameters, it is still incurring losses and is facing financial crunch," he wrote.

He sought Jaitley's intervention to ensure the dues of all ministries were released. "Whatever need be, the requisite amounts may be allocated to these ministries in their budget at the third supplementary stage," he wrote.

Batra, who got these records under the RTI Act, said he was sad to find that Air India has not made desirable improvement in cutting down the time in preparing invoices after VVIP visits. "The authorities responsible for paying bills initially do not project adequate funds for the year. For example, MHA initially projected only Rs2 billion for the year, and later seek more allocation at revised estimate stage of the budget," Batra told PTI. He said it could result in the payments getting delayed.

Source: Timesofoman

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

government owes rs451 billion to air india for vvip travel special missions government owes rs451 billion to air india for vvip travel special missions

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

government owes rs451 billion to air india for vvip travel special missions government owes rs451 billion to air india for vvip travel special missions

 



GMT 12:47 2016 Thursday ,01 September

'La La Land' musical masterpiece dazzles Venice film fest

GMT 12:42 2017 Monday ,20 February

Dalia al-Behairy begins 'Yawmiyat Zoga Mafrosa'

GMT 19:01 2017 Wednesday ,30 August

Oil prices down as US reels from Harvey

GMT 04:19 2017 Monday ,08 May

National forces attack mercenaries in Taiz

GMT 19:21 2017 Sunday ,07 May

Iranian Film Week opens in Baghdad

GMT 21:33 2017 Sunday ,30 July

Arab Quartet meeting kicks off in Bahrain

GMT 17:17 2016 Friday ,07 October

Aleppo bleeds as US and Russia spar

GMT 12:03 2015 Monday ,21 December

Nepal protester killed in constitutional crisis clash

GMT 09:47 2016 Thursday ,22 December

Trump vows to cut F-35 spending, as leaked memo

GMT 21:44 2017 Friday ,15 December

King establishes Hawar Development Committee

GMT 20:57 2017 Tuesday ,16 May

Naval Forces rescue 23 tourists in Hurghada

GMT 12:56 2017 Monday ,11 December

Lyon leave it late, Balotelli with Nice winner

GMT 06:18 2017 Thursday ,19 October

Russian delegation meets with Julphar chairman

GMT 21:20 2017 Monday ,23 October

Nasr, delegation of London Stock Exchange

GMT 14:40 2012 Saturday ,10 March

Magdy Al-Galad steps down

GMT 09:47 2017 Sunday ,12 March

Cat Camp in New York attracts cat lovers

GMT 14:57 2016 Friday ,09 September

Madonna, Ritchie settle child custody dispute

GMT 23:52 2017 Monday ,18 September

UAE economic growth boosting logistics sector
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday