Govt not notified about Sahara-Jet deal, says Patel

The Left put the government on the mat today on Civil Aviation Minster Praful Patel's comments on the Sahara-Jet deal.

No proposal for the merger of Sahara Airlines with Jet Airways had been received by the government, Patel said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that though he had seen reports in the media, he had no information of the merger and would frame guidelines for such an event.

The government also got the rough edge of the Left's tongue on airport privatisation with CPI(M) general secretary writing to the prime minister warning that going ahead with the move without consulting the tripartite committee would vitiate industrial relations.

On the merger of Sahara and Jet airlines, members of the Left parties who have been raising the issue, protested in the Rajya Sabha against the minister's reply.

Dipankar Mukherjee of CPI(M) said the chairman of Indian Airlines had sought allocation of the infrastructural support, including land rights owned by Sahara Airlines, for the state-owned airlines following reports of the merger. Mukherjee said, "If that is so, then how is the government ignorant about the deal."

Patel said the government had not received any formal proposal for the merger of the two airlines.

"We are not insensitive. We have read it in media. There is a possibility of such a situation. Therefore, the government will, in the best traditions of international practice, try to come out with guidelines," he said when asked whether land and other support will be transferred to Indian Airlines in the event of merger.

Nilotpal Basu of CPI(M) asked Patel whether land and infrastructural support of Sahara Airlines would be transferred to the Indian Airlines as a result of the former's merger, since these facilities cannot automatically be transferred to the new merged airlines.

In reply to the main question, Patel said corporate houses had acquired business jets and turboprop planes for private use and these were on the increase due to rising business and tourism needs.

He said the Director General of Civil Aviation had registered 27 such planes acquired by corporate houses and private companies since January 1, 2002.

The government while approving acquisition of aircraft had taken into account the availability of parking or hanger space and other amenities at airports as desired by applicants.

He said some of the corporate houses had been allotted hanger space and they could park their aircraft there.The minister said the current infrastructure at airports other than Delhi and Mumbai was adequate to meet the demand of such corporate houses.

Patel said Delhi and Mumbai airports were in the process of being handed over for modernisation to joint venture companies. The CPI(M) strongly objected to this.

Karat, in a letter, said both the prime minister and the civil aviation minister had assured employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that a tripartite committee comprising representatives of the ministry, the AAI and the Joint Employees Forum would "look into the issues and proposals of modernising" But, he said, not a single meeting of the committee had taken place though it had been asked to give a report in three months. Not holding a meeting would vitiate the CMP mandate of "no confrontation in labour-management relations but consultation, cooperation and consensus".

Karat warned that keeping in view the strong opposition of the employees who are the major stakeholders of the AAI, "the government should not take a unilateral decision on change of management which could adversely affect industrial relations".