New Delhi: Finding fault with the way the government had proceeded with the purchase of 68 aircraft from Boeing without anticipating Air India's payment capacity, a parliamentary panel has asked the Centre to provide details about the investments made by the aircraft manufacturer and the discount it gave.
The government had decided to increase the number of Boeing aircraft to be bought for AI from 28 to 68 in 2005 for about Rs 38,149 crore. The panel has said a “desperate need” for aircraft was made out, and “flawed assumptions” led to the revised project report for 50 long-range aircraft and 18 small aircraft.
In its report—Performance of Civil Aviation in India—tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) cleared the proposal without having a long-term perspective and despite reservations and concerns raised regarding the number of aircraft to be procured. “This is unfortunate, to say the least,” it said. The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, noted that the chronology of events leading to change in aircraft requirement started with a letter dated October 22, 2003, to the Prime Minister’s Office signed by 43 members of the US Congress pressing for purchase of aircraft from Boeing.
08/02/14 Shemin Joy/Deccan Herald
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The government had decided to increase the number of Boeing aircraft to be bought for AI from 28 to 68 in 2005 for about Rs 38,149 crore. The panel has said a “desperate need” for aircraft was made out, and “flawed assumptions” led to the revised project report for 50 long-range aircraft and 18 small aircraft.
In its report—Performance of Civil Aviation in India—tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) cleared the proposal without having a long-term perspective and despite reservations and concerns raised regarding the number of aircraft to be procured. “This is unfortunate, to say the least,” it said. The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, noted that the chronology of events leading to change in aircraft requirement started with a letter dated October 22, 2003, to the Prime Minister’s Office signed by 43 members of the US Congress pressing for purchase of aircraft from Boeing.
08/02/14 Shemin Joy/Deccan Herald
