Scindia Boards An ‘Empty Flight’
Well, if not technically, at least, euphemistically, one can see that Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia has boarded a near empty flight as civil aviation ministry’s “new commander”. In 1991, his father—Madhavrao Scindia—enunciated the scheduled policy for private airlines that revolutionised Indian aviation.
After the first private airline East West, Jet Airways came into being. That led to “new birds” in the sky. Yogi Deveshwar was co-opted from ITC and made the chairman of Air India. It was also the era when the gulf sector was entirely in the hands of the public sector Air India/Indian airlines which enjoyed a huge monopoly with over 100 weekly flights. Once, Deveshwar proudly claimed that Air India made a profit of Rs one crore a day.
A quarter century since then, Air India is now losing over Rs one crore a day and is actually on ventilator with the government desperate to sell it. The private airlines control over 80% of the traffic. The Airports Authority of India has lost most of their airports to the private sector. Nearly, 80% of traffic flows to six major airports—Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
There are some things which Scindia can still do, instead of sitting idle. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is riddled with corrupt elements and is said to be inefficient, it needs to be revamped. The civil aviation authority Act has been pending for over five years. It will be a good time for him to get the Act passed and create an omnibus authority which will modernise Indian aviation. Scindia should also fast track the drone policy which has been under sketchy implementation. It has become important in view of the recent drone attacks on Jammu air force base.
Bombay HC Gives First Task
The Bombay High Court on Friday ordered the civil aviation ministry to finalise its policy on naming of airports. “There’s a fresh cabinet reshuffle now. Let this be the first thing to be done by the new aviation minister. The draft policy of 2017 shouldn’t be at draft stage,” the bench said. In 2017, the government was considering a proposal to rename existing airports as well as future Greenfield airports after cities and not personalities. The reason cited for the move was the perceived inconvenience caused to passengers and foreign tourists who may not be familiar with Indian personalities.Six airports have been renamed in over 10 years. Five of them have been renamed after personalities. One wishes Scindia good luck as he has acquired the “Aviation Virasat” of his charming father Madhavrao, who had commanered the civil aviation ministry without running into rough weather. Unfortunately, “Maharaj”– as Madhavrao Scindia was popularly known as he belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior—died in a plane crash on the outskirts of Mainpuri district of UP on 30 September 2001. Few sons are able to emulate their father. Here is a golden chance for Jyotiraditya to justify to his old Congress friends that “sky is not the limit in the saffron sky”!
New Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Believes in 24X7 Work
Every new minister wishes to do something to look different from his predecessor, whether it works to
not. On Day one, new Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw issued an order that the staff in his office should
work almost round the clock. The staff would work in two shifts: one set between 7 am and 4 pm and another from 3 pm till midnight! The common man is only interested in knowing whether this would ensure trains running at the right time.
Free Power New Gimmick In Poll-Bound States
A poll gimmick to give “free electricity” was started by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He distributes many other “freebies” too–of course, at the cost of public money. In Delhi, women can now travel free in the DTC buses even if they can afford the fare. Consumers in Delhi can have free electricity up to 200 units per month, and similarly can get free water up to a certain level of units per month. “But how many people are benefiting in severe heat and winter? The percentage of people receiving ‘zero bill’ is very small. Similarly, a very small section of the society is getting ‘zero bill’ for water consumption. A large population of poor people don’t have water connection,” former BJP MLA, Dr Vijay Jolly, told The Sunday Guardian. “If the Lieutenant Governor gives a ‘free hand’ to him, Kejriwal will make everything free–just to remain in power,” says Jolly. Kejriwal is now making pre-poll promises of “free electricity and water’ in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, where AAP is planning to contest in a big way. Big parties like Congress and the BJP have started copying his formula.
Freebies are not good for people’s economic growth. “Citizens do not want free electricity, they want continuous 24-hours power at reasonable rates,” says Avdhash Kaushal, Chairman of the Rural Litigation Empowerment Kendra, a Dehradun-based noted NGO.