Par panel slams Aviation Ministry, DGCA for fake pilot licence

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 04, 2011, 21:41

Tags: DGCA, Aviation Ministry, fake pilot

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of pilots faking documents to get flying licences, a parliamentary committee has slammed the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for a "very weak" in-house supervisory and vigilance system to check the menace.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, which also covers civil aviation, has recommended creation of a separate body for keeping a strict vigil "so that such instances do not recur at all."

The Sitaram Yechuri-led Committee also expressed "surprise" that the Directorate of Licensing responsible for issuing licenses to airline pilots was working with just four Group A officers against the sanctioned strength of 26 officers.

The Civil Aviation Ministry did not accept the charges of corruption when the issue was placed before it by the Committee.

"The Committee finds that the recent instances of corruption being reported in the media about issuance of licenses to pilots on the basis of fake documents, without clearing requisite tests, amply proves the existence of criminal connivance between the officers of the DGCA, flight training institutes and flight instructors with touts.

"That such a thing was going on within the DGCA shows that its in-house supervisory and vigilance system was very weak," the report said.

The Committee has recommended that the entire licensing system of DGCA needed streamlining. It said the system should also be made transparent by making it available in the public domain.

"The corruption of all forms should be eliminated from the functioning of DGCA and its various offices. There should be a separate body - either a directorate in DGCA or an outside agency - for keeping strict vigil in this regard so that such instances do not recur," the report said.

A total of 15 people, including five pilots and three DGCA officials, have been arrested in Delhi and Jaipur since March seven after the fake pilot scam was unearthed by the DGCA. They were arrested on charges of using forged mark-sheets, fudged flying hours and related documents to procure flying licenses from the DGCA.

PTI

First Published: Wednesday, May 04, 2011, 21:41

Comments

Umesh Chandra - Kolkata
There was an article by Mr. Abhijit Bhattacharyya titled - Scandals of the skies in The Telegraph dated Kolkata 03 May 2011. The corrupt practices of DGCA were exposed which stands vindicated by this findings of The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport. The scams and corruption at the Director General of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Civil Aviation involved high ranking officers, secretaries or the ministers. Therefore it will be out of the ambit of enquiry headed by a high ranking Officer. The scams were allowed due to the collusion political compulsions, therefore it should rather be investigated under the present 2G Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The expertise of the Air Force should be utilized in administration and imparting of ab-initio and advance flying training for the commercial pilots, as was the practice at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA). IAF instructors did a commendable job there. It will be interesting to find out why this was discontinued? Needed be, open another branch of IGRUA. Close all other private flying institutes, as they are deeply involved in the corrupt practices of producing fake pilots and corrupting the systems at the DGCA.