The Government owes over Rs 451 crore to cash-strapped Air India for operating chartered flights for VVIPs including President, Vice President and Prime Minister along with flying for special missions, concluded the data provided under RTI Act.
According to the data, Rs 27.70 crore was pending towards the visits of the president, Rs 351.82 crore for vice president, and Rs 45.97 crore with regard to the prime minister. Besides, Rs 14.66 crore was due towards services provided to foreign dignitaries and Rs 11.59 crore for evacuation operations.
The information provided to RTI activist commodore (retd) Lokesh Batra shows senior officials of the civil aviation ministry besides Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju writing to the authorities concerned at different times requesting them for clearing the dues of the flag carrier. The records show 31 letters were written by senior officials of the ministry between 2014 and 2017.
Batra said he was sad to find tat Air India has not made desirable improvement in cutting down the time in preparing invoices after VVIP visits. “The authorities responsible for paying bills initially do not project adequate funds for the year. For example, MHA initially projected only Rs 200 crore for the year, and later seek more allocation at revised estimate stage of the budget,” Batra said.
Air India keeps three Boeing 747-400 aircraft aside for operating chartered services for the president, vice president and the prime minister during their visits abroad. The bills for the president, vice president, evacuation and foreign dignitaries are pending with the external affairs ministry, while those relating to the travel of prime minister are with the home ministry.
The bills for evacuation of Indian citizens from Iraq, Egypt and Malta in troubled times, besides relief sent to the US during hurricane Katrina in 2005 have yet to be cleared by the MEA, the reply shows.
This year, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry Satyendra Mishra wrote to the home ministry seeking payment of Rs 45.97 crore on account of dues for the flights of the prime minister.
“Air India has a shortage of cash flow and is unable to meet its various financial obligations. So, I shall be grateful if you could kindly look into the matter personally to ensure that the outstanding dues of AI are cleared at the earliest,” Mishra’s letter dated April 6, 2017, to the additional secretary, home ministry, said.
Similar letters were also sent to the MEA and the defence ministry seeking clearance of bills for the VVIP visits, operations and maintenance.