GoM to be set up on aviation

The government will constitute an empowered group of ministers from civil aviation, finance, commerce and home, to handle issues relating to the privatisation in the civil aviation sector.

Besides, one of the members of the EGoM will be an ally of the Congress in the United Progressive Alliance government.

The EGoM may also be empowered to take decisions on issues relating to the civil aviation sector, including the civil aviation policy, fleet acquisition of the state-owned carriers, as well as modernisation of other airports.

A decision to this effect was taken after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday.

Government sources also said that the EoGM would be constituted soon, as the deadline for the submission of the expressions of interest for the privatisation of the Mumbai and Delhi airports was July 20.

Besides, sources also said that the Prime Minister's Office favoured an EGoM after Praful Patel jumped the gun when it came to the privatisation of airports. The PMO feels that the Cabinet should have a greater say in the matter as it had in the previous NDA regime.

According

to sources, since the structure of the EGoM was already in place and it would take a Cabinet decision to dissolve the commission, the easier way out would be to simply reconstitute it.

In the previous EGoM, the members were the ministers of finance, law, civil aviation and divestment. Since there is no divestment ministry in the UPA government, there is already one vacancy.

According to sources, the vacancy will, in all probability, be filled by an ally of the Congress.

A question mark also hangs over the fate of the law minister. Whether he would be made a member or not, his place could be taken by some other Cabinet minister.

The decision of the civil aviation ministry to cap the foreign equity component for the privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airport at 49 per cent, had created problems from the allies.

According to sources, the EGoM would be able to take a decision of key issues on a fast-track mode and would also be able to build consensus among various allies of the ruling coalition.

Sources also said that the various industry representatives who met the government over the last few days on the civil aviation policy, also favoured the EGoM.