Next DGCA: Govt may lower bar

New Delhi: The government is finding it hard to zero in on a suitable person who can be entrusted with the task of
ensuring people fly safely in India. The post of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief falls vacant this June.
None of the contenders for this position meet the requirement and the government will have to relax norms for whosoever it chooses and perhaps give safety the go-by.
Kanu Gohain retired as the tremendously short-staffed agency's director-general last June and got a one-year extension in two instalments.
Now with his second extension nearing an end, the aviation ministry is learnt to have proposed the name of an IAS officer, Naseem Zaidi, for the top post that has sparked a ferocious "generalist versus specialist" debate within the organization.
According to highly placed sources, none of the contenders for the post meet the requirements. While Zaidi does not have the required 12-year experience in civil aviation needed by an IAS officer, Gohain's second-in-command — joint DG A K Chopra — has not completed the mandatory two years in this position before becoming eligible for elevation.
22/04/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2008