AI has Rs 1,725cr fuel dues

New Delhi: At a time when the government is considering bailing out state-run oilmarketers by raising petrol and diesel prices, its own carrier -
National Aviation Corporation of India Ltd, formed after the merger of Air-India and Indian Airlines - has emerged as the biggest defaulter with an outstanding fuel bill of Rs 1,725 crore.
Since the entire outstanding is unsecured - the oil companies neither have a bank guarantee nor post-dated cheques -- the firms are threatening to stop supplies. Admittedly though it seems unlikely that the government will allow the oil companies to carry out the threat. But if that happens, it could prove to be the last straw for the national carrier that owes Rs 2,700 crore to vendors, including fuel dues.
Against such a large liability, the airlines will get Rs 800 crore from the government this month and another Rs 1,200 crore next fiscal. With such a thin lifeline, there is a question mark over NACIL's survival unless some drastic steps are taken. "It is time the government decides NACIL's future. How long can the government keep pumping in money. If it has to survive, then we must have the government's full backing for some drastic measures,'' a NACIL executive said.
13/02/10 anjay Dutta & Saurabh Sinha/Timeds of India

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Categories: NACIL Feb 2010