The DGCA head should be Immediately Suspended & Questioned on numerous loopholes in our Aviation Infrastructure Endangering Thousands
“Whoever willfully flies any aircraft in such a manner as to cause danger to any person or to any property on land or water or in the air shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees, or with both.” These are the glorious words from the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2007 that adorns the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Whoever from DGCA was consulted for making this Act must have been either extremely shrewd or farsighted... or both. The onus of any ‘flight’ crime endangering lives or property, as per the Act, only lies with the pilots and not with anybody else. Given the latest rot exposed in the fudging of pilots’ marks, one questions why this Act should not be expanded to include in its ambit even on-ground officials like the head of DGCA who, either through deliberate commission or omission, have been as much party to the issue of endangering lives of flyers as the criminal pilots themselves. While pilots have been arrested, and so have been some low-key DGCA officials, the huge question is, why hasn’t the DGCA head, an IAS officer called SNA Zaidi, been suspended till now?
Charge 1 - Criminal negligence: The latest series of scams shows how pilots used forged mark sheets to secure their ‘Airline Transport Pilot Licences’. These licenses are required by co-pilots to graduate to become a ‘commander’. 4,000 such licences are under scrutiny. The police have arrested Parminder Kaur Gulati of Indigo and Jitender Kishen Verma of Air India in this scam. These pilots forged mark-sheets in order to obtain their respective licences. Even a veteran pilot – Air India captain J. K. Verma (flying for Air India since 1989) – forged his testimonials to get his licence. Arjun Giare, who obtained his license through a faked mark-sheet (forged Class 10 certificate to meet the minimum age criteria) was even suspended in the year 2000 by the US Federal Aviation Authority. In another case, Garima Passi, daughter of Director of Air Safety in DGCA, was suspended recently as even her licence was based on forged documents.
Crime branch officers (who are investigating this case) have commented that “such a scam could not have taken place without some DGCA officials being in the know.” Mark-sheets are issued to pilots from the DGCA’s central examination office in R. K. Puram in New Delhi, which are to be submitted to DGCA’s head office for further processing. The issue here is not that pilots have fake licenses – pilots have original and authentic licenses. But these licences are based on fake mark sheets – which possibly could not have been approved at the license issuing end, unless DGCA officials throughout the organisation were complicit to the act.
Charge 1 - Criminal negligence: The latest series of scams shows how pilots used forged mark sheets to secure their ‘Airline Transport Pilot Licences’. These licenses are required by co-pilots to graduate to become a ‘commander’. 4,000 such licences are under scrutiny. The police have arrested Parminder Kaur Gulati of Indigo and Jitender Kishen Verma of Air India in this scam. These pilots forged mark-sheets in order to obtain their respective licences. Even a veteran pilot – Air India captain J. K. Verma (flying for Air India since 1989) – forged his testimonials to get his licence. Arjun Giare, who obtained his license through a faked mark-sheet (forged Class 10 certificate to meet the minimum age criteria) was even suspended in the year 2000 by the US Federal Aviation Authority. In another case, Garima Passi, daughter of Director of Air Safety in DGCA, was suspended recently as even her licence was based on forged documents.
Crime branch officers (who are investigating this case) have commented that “such a scam could not have taken place without some DGCA officials being in the know.” Mark-sheets are issued to pilots from the DGCA’s central examination office in R. K. Puram in New Delhi, which are to be submitted to DGCA’s head office for further processing. The issue here is not that pilots have fake licenses – pilots have original and authentic licenses. But these licences are based on fake mark sheets – which possibly could not have been approved at the license issuing end, unless DGCA officials throughout the organisation were complicit to the act.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
