According to the greenfield policy, the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry will be single-window agencies for clearing all greenfield airport projects, including commercial passenger airports, cargo airports, private airports, airstrips and helipads.
The proposals will go to the steering committee in the ministry only if they involve contentious issues like building a second international airport within 150 km of an existing facility. Earlier, the power to clear airports was with the Cabinet.
"Even when airport projects were approved by the Cabinet, technical inputs were given by the DGCA. This just formalises the process," said Siddhanta Sharma, chairman of Delhi-based budget carrier, SpiceJet.
The DGCA's powers have consistently grown over the last one year. After the amendment to the Aircraft Act, 1934, last year, it was given the power to issue licences to air traffic control (ATC) officials.
"Before the amendment, air traffic officials were rated for independent operations by a body under the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and no licence was required. Now, the DGCA will issue licences to ATC officials based on the same training period," said a ministry official.
The DGCA has also been given power to regulate foreign-registered aircraft operating in India. This would apply to foreign-registered aircraft that are wet-leased for particular operations by airline companies as well as private aircraft registered abroad.
Before this, the DGCA used to only regulate the performance and other aspects of aircraft registered in India. This was later extended to foreign-registered aircraft.
The DGCA has also been empowered to regulate air traffic services, banning flights over specified areas and prohibition of slaughtering of animals within the 10-km radius of airports.
However, according to industry experts, the crucial factor hindering the efficient implementation of the DGCA's powers is gross understaffing. According to DGCA officials, even as the number of aircraft has more than doubled, the department has now around 400 people, almost half of what it used to have eight years ago.
"There are only four inspectors to clear licences for pilots and crew, and the number of officials for clearing airports is also very low," said an industry expert.
