Wednesday, September 7, 2011

CAG report on Air India in Parliament today

New Delhi:  The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Air India will be tabled in Parliament today. The report has indicted the Civil Aviation Ministry; the CAG said crores were wasted in the purchase and leasing of aircrafts and that was the basic reason which crippled the national carrier.

The report says that the contract with Airbus was defective leading to a loss of Rs. 200 crore. The Civil Aviation Ministry says this was a decision taken by the airline.

The CAG report also says that Air India took a Rs. 200-crore loan and paid extra interest on it, but the ministry says this had to be done until government guarantee got approved.

The report says the high loan rate led to a loss of Rs. 314 crore till March 2010 and would cause a future loss of Rs. 2500 crore. The Civil Aviation Ministry says the CAG is satisfied with this explanation.

The CAG also slams what it calls the questionable expenditure of Rs. 1700 crore on rented aircraft. Air India, in its defence, says some lease terms were extended due to redelivery issues.

The CAG report also slams the 'lack of foresight of Air India management' and says that the expansion of Air India's fleet was not based on due diligence.

While Air India in its defence says the extra aircraft was ordered for increased demand, the government says the empowered Group of Ministers (GoM) got a discount on bulk order.

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