New Delhi:
The government's auditor has tabled a report that says Air India is in a financial mess largely because of its extravagant buying and leasing of planes and Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi admits the national carrier does not have the money to pay for 27 Boeing 787s that it has ordered.
Soon after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) severely criticised Air India's extravagant acquisition plans, Mr Ravi told NDTV in an interview that the delivery of the 27 aircraft had been delayed by Boeing for three years, there was no decision on whether the order would be confirmed or cancelled, but made clear that if these were delivered, there was no money to pay for them.
"I don't have the money to pay...I cannot beg the finance minister all the time for the money. It is difficult, this is the position now. The government cannot say we are confirming or we are rejecting, the workers also know that now...but it is not delivered so far, we have not paid so far. I don't have the money to pay for it also," the minister said.
The CAG report tabled in Parliament yesterday takes the civil aviation ministry to task for a faulty and hasty expansion plan that involved funding the purchase of new planes with debt or loans, calling it a "recipe for disaster." The CAG said this had led the airline to its current financially-crippled state.
(Read) Mr Ravi admitted that at this point it was "very difficult to pay salaries...the government has to pay money to Air India to pay salaries."
After the CAG report, the constant ministry-airline blame game has reached a shrill note. Former top Air India officials like Jitendra Bhargava have criticised the aviation ministry for interfering too much in the affairs of the airline. The ministry has been accused of bleeding the airline through large-scale freebies given out and faulty decision-making. The ministry has said critical decisions that went awry were made by the airline board.
The minister justifies the need to step in. "I interfere nowadays where, for what? There are 19 employees dismissed in one year. I intervene, I said no, take them back. That is interference to protect the workers' rights. Nothing wrong in it," Mr Ravi said.
But now, he says resolutely, the ministry will intervene to look at profitability. "I am going to look into subsidiaries, into Alliance Airline, into Air India Express...I want the cash flow. May I tell you the truth? It is very difficult to pay salaries. The government has to pay money to Air India to pay salaries. This is the situation, that is the interference. You must understand our problem."