By IANS,
New Delhi : Taking exception to a large number of violations of air-safety norms and the fake pilot cases, a parliamentary panel has called for strict regulations for safety audits and steps to ensure all conditions are met before grant of any licence.
“The committee feels the existing procedures and regulations need to be revisited with a view to minimizing chances of any kind of manipulation,” said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in a report tabled last week.
According to the report, increasing instances of safety norms violation and manipulation in obtaining various licences had degraded the confidence of the travelling public, and that stern action should be taken immediately to redeem the situation.
“Message should go loud and clear that India is strict in its procedure and no laxity by anybody would be tolerated if we were to regain the confidence of travelling people,” said the report.
Headed by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member Sitaram Yechury, the committee also recommended that the aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, must conduct safety audits of all airlines and training institutes in a fixed time-frame.
“Considering a large number of airline operators, maintenance agencies, flight training institutes, and new ones being set up, the frequency of various kinds of inspections and audits undertaken may not be too frequent to have a deterrent effort.”
The report also recommended the creation of a specialised agency to take action against those institutes and organisations found guilty of violations.