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Mahajan blasts Gujral govt's proposed civil aviation policy

Mahajan -- who has spoken out against the Tata-Singapore Airlines proposal -- has warned that the new draft civil aviation policy would sound the death knell for national carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines.

He alleged that the government's proposed move was singularly aimed at favouring the Tata-SIA joint venture which was earlier rejected by the H D Deve Gowda government.

The draft proposals, which he claimed was circulated by the civil aviation secretary among joint secretaries and the chairman of Air-India and Indian Airlines for comments, overturned the previous government's decision.

Mahajan said the Deve Gowda government decided against foreign equity participation in domestic airlines on the recommendation of the Cabinet, the standing committee of Parliament on civil aviation and at the insistence of several political parties. Reversing the decision is a mockery of entire decision-making system, he said.

He also criticised the foreign investment provision for new airports in the draft, which gave the option of BOO ( build, operate and own) to BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer).

"In reality this amounts to donating our land to foreign nationals at the cost of national security," he alleged. He said his party would strongly oppose any move to reverse the earlier policy. He demanded that the draft policy be referred to the parliamentary committee on civil aviation for detailed scrutiny and then be discussed in the monsoon session of Parliament.

UNI

EARLIER STORY:New aviation policy on the anvil