PM's men find aviation policy up in the air

New Delhi: Even as the domestic aviation sector is leveraging economies of scale through M&As, the government is yet to approve vital policy documents including civil aviation policy, model concession agreement (MCA) for development of airports and establishment of a statutory regulator for economic regulation and dispute resolution.
The PM’s committee on infrastructure (CoI), in its recent review, has found that some of its important decisions could not be implemented even after two years. The government is yet to table the draft Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (Aera) Bill in Parliament.
The ministry of civil aviation is making efforts to introduce the Aera Bill in the current session of Parliament. “A draft Cabinet note along with the draft Aera Bill has been circulated to the ministries for their comments,” an official source said. The CoI had fixed September 2005 as the deadline to set up the regulator.
Setting up a regulator is a pre-condition for a competitive aviation sector. The regulator is proposed to fix, review and approve tariff structure for aeronautical services and monitor pre-set performance standards at airports. The authority will also ensure a level-playing field for all categories of airport operators as well as oversee and deal with natural monopoly and common carrier segments of airport.
16/04/07 Rajat Guha & Rajeev Jayaswal/Economic Times

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Categories: General Aviation Apr 2007