Civil aviation minister C M Ibrahim declared in the Rajya Sabha yesterday that the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) was ready to build an international airport at Bangalore if the Tata group-led consortium was unwilling to construct it on a build -own-transfer (BOT) basis.
Answering supplementaries during question hour he said that the Tata group, which had originally proposed building the Rs 1, 500 crore airport near Devanahalli on a build-own-operate (BOO) format, has shown some conciliation in adhering to the BOT criteria laid down by the civil aviation ministry.
Air India: The market share of Air India has declined from 24.5 per cent in 1990 to 23.1 per cent in 1995, owing to the airlines failure to grow at the same rate as the international traffic, Ibrahim told the Rajya Sabha. However, the number of passengers carried by Air India has not declined, the minister said in a written reply. He said the airline was taking steps to augment capacity, intensify marketing efforts and to improve its products, image and on time performance.
Consultants: Air India has invited proposals from foreign consultants to advise the company on financial restructuring, raising of additional capital through equity issues, the minister said in another reply.
Wheat prices: Wholesale prices of wheat has gone up by a whopping 30.3 per cent during the last one year, the Rajya Sabha was informed. Replying to a written question in the upper house of Parliament Union food and civil supplies minister Chaturanan Mishra said wheat prices have gone up by 30.3 per cent in April 1997, compared to last years prices.
LOK SABHA
Per capita income: The real per capita income in the country has increased by 21.4 per cent during 1996-97 as against 1990-91, the Lok Sabha was told. Minister of state for planning and programme implemetation, Y G Alagh, said this worked out to an average annual growth of 3.29 per cent. The advanced estimates of real capita income for 1996-97 (net national product at factor cost at 1980-81 prices) was provided by the Central Statistical Organisation, the minister said.
NGO funding: The government has set up a 24-member committee to oversee government funding of non-government organisations (NGOs) comprising of five members and five journalists and the rest consisting of eminent persons, the Lok Sabha was informed.
Replying to supplementaries during question hour, welfare minister B S Ramoowalia said the setting up of the committee would be put up for gazette notification shortly.
MPs demand probe into RIL share issue
Our Political Bureau NEW DELHI
Rajya Sabha members yesterday demanded that the Union government should inquire into the alleged cover up action by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Unit Trust of India (UTI) on the issue of duplicate RIL shares.
These shares, which were purchased by the UTI at a high premium, resulted in losses running into crores of rupees for the Trust, Communist party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta, who raised the issue through a zero hour mention, alleged.
If proprietors of MS Shoes and senior Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) officials can be prosecuted and put behind bars, why cant the government penalise RIL, he asked.
Reliance Consultancy services wrote to UTI, saying that RIL was not bound to return share certificates of the duplicate shares, Dasgupta pointed out and said that his meant that RIL did not have the share certificates. If the UTI agreed to the request, it would lose money and RIL would be protected from the charge of criminal conspiracy, he alleged.
UTI had been investing huge funds in Reliance without any reason and at the expense of the common man, Dasgupta alleged. In the process, the UTIs credibility was going down, he said.
Dasgupta, who was joined by Telugu Desam members in demanding an inquiry, alleged there was a cover-up operation to bail out Reliance.
He alleged UTI had initially purchased Rs 900 crore of such Reliance shares and if swift action was not taken UTI would lose money.
