Praful carries his tarmac privilege to new ministry

New Delhi: Former civil aviation minister Praful Patel has made sure that even after being moved to another ministry, he gets to keep at least some privileges that came with his earlier territory — or, in his case, tarmac.
Among the last orders that Patel oversaw in his earlier job was one that allows his car to go right up to the aircraft at all airports in India. This privilege — now available to all former civil aviation ministers who are part of the government — was earlier restricted to a handful of individuals including the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister.
The ball was set rolling on the order two months before Patel left office, and was pushed through in a hurry, officials said. On January 21, two days after the Prime Minister shifted Patel to Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises with a cabinet rank, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a circular saying “all former Civil Aviation Ministers still serving as Union Ministers” may be allowed “access of vehicle up to the tarmac of airports”.
A copy of the BCAS order, accessed by The Indian Express, was marked to Patel at his new office in Udyog Bhawan. When contacted, Patel said, “Many cabinet ministers and chief ministers are security-exempt and have been granted this privilege. This order was in the works for 4-5 months before I left the ministry.”
09/02/11 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Categories: Airports Feb 2011