Ministry approaches CVC to act against DGCA officials

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has sought the advice of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on taking action against nine DGCA officials accused of using their positions to get their kin employed in various airlines. The officers include two additional directors general and three directors in the air safety, airworthiness and Air Traffic Management wings of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), official sources said.[caption id=“attachment_294640” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Ensuring safe skies. Reuters”]  [/caption] These cases have been referred to the Vigilance Section of the ministry to seek the advice of CVC at the instance of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, who is understood to have favoured hard decisions in such matters. The sources said ‘major penalties’, which include dismissal from service, compulsory retirement and stoppage of promotions, have been suggested by the ministry against eight of the nine officers. All major airlines, including Air India, Kingfisher, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir, have given jobs to the sons or daughters of these officers, they said. The earliest one to get a job in an airline was the daughter of a director in 2004, while the sons of an assistant director and that of a DGCA pilot were the latest to get employed in two non-scheduled airline firms in July 2010, the sources said. Cases of corruption and nepotism in the DGCA had come to light following the arrest of its staff and an officer in the wake of a scam last year in which pilots got licenses by submitting forged or fake documents. About 20 people, including pilots, were also arrested. The DGCA had also found gross violation of norms by as many as 40 flying schools across the country after it carried out safety audits. PTI