Civil Aviation Minister Raju has no knowledge of ministry decision on second NCR airport

New Delhi: Does the right hand know what the left is up to in the Ministry of Civil Aviation? Junior Minister Mahesh Sharma announced a decision on building a second airport in the Delhi-NCR region last week with much fanfare. He said that time that all stakeholders have been consulted and the ministry has given its in-principle nod. But his senior colleague and cabinet minister A Gajapathi Raju today appeared clueless about the entire issue.[caption id=“attachment_1704225” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] When asked about the second airport, Raju said “I won’t know if a proposal has gone from this ministry on a second airport in NCR. If any state sends proposal, we can look at an airport proposal….I am not even sure this proposal needs a nod of the cabinet”. As we said in a piece earlier this week our sources have already indicated that frustrated at the glacial speed with which this ministry has been working all of last year, the ‘powers that be’ have brought in several changes in its functioning. First, the top bureaucrat manning the ministry was changed a few weeks back and RN Choubey was brought in as the civil aviation secretary. And now, we hear from reliable sources that in a meeting last week, the ‘powers that be’ again warned ministry officials against delaying decisions. Or else. According to these sources, the ‘powers that be’ have now charged Minister of State Mahesh Sharma with taking quick decisions on crucial matters as they decide the fate of his senior A Gajapathi Raju. So the apparent lack of communication between Raju and his junior minister comes as no surprise. If the Ministry of Civil Aviation is taking a crucial decision like announcing a second airport in the Delhi-NCR region without the cabinet minister being aware of it, there is certainly something amiss. The civil aviation ministry has often been accused of inaction, even inertia this past year as crucial policy decisions kept getting delayed. When the Prime Minister directed all ministers to publicize their achievements through media interactions in May, this was one ministry where officials continued to avoid the media. They merely pointed to digitization of some functions and the successful upgrade of India’s safety ratings with the United States as achievements of 12 months of hard work. Legacy policy issues such as a decision on scrapping the 5/20 rule, putting in place a comprehensive civil aviation policy and a policy on air services agreements with other countries were left hanging, seemingly too sensitive to take any decisions on. Now, it seems Sharma has already begun cracking the whip. Last Thursday, Sharma convened a meeting of all stakeholders. This was attended by secretary Choubey, chiefs of the Airports Authority of India, Air India, Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd and AERA besides all other top officials of the ministry. The agenda paper for the meeting mentioned numerous items. Minister Sharma emerged from the meeting with two crucial decisions: the NCR airport and a go ahead to definitely go in for fare regulation to prevent airlines from charging “predatory” fares - this has been discussed within the ministry for months now but a decision was arrived at only in Thursday’s meeting. Some other issues, such as the delay in awarding contracts of four airports by AAI to private bidders, a decision on the 5/20 rule, delay in getting AAI and PHHL listed on the bourses - these were also discussed at the meeting. More such regular meetings are being lined up as Sharma begins to crack the whip. That junior minister Sharma now has a say in all crucial ministry decisions was even more apparent over the weekend. When a senior DGCA official said on Friday that some budget airlines want permission to launch fare schemes where every piece of checked-in luggage will be charged extra, the minister immediately questioned this move and said no airline will be allowed to charge extra for 15 kg of bags. It remains to be seen whether the aviation regulator or the minister prevails but for now, airlines will be wary of launching such schemes without first seeking Sharma’s nod. The decision for a second airport in Delhi-NCR has, for years, been mired in controversy as successive governments in Uttar Pradesh pushed for different locations suiting their political constituencies. Sharma said after the Thursday meeting that now, the ministry will appoint consultants to study the implications and needs of a second airport and he will try to take the matter to the Cabinet “very soon”. Though he did not confirm if Zevar near Greater Noida is still in the reckoning for the second NCR airport, sources close to him indicated it is the most probable location since over 2000 acres of land has already been acquired for the purpose of setting up an airport.