New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Monday raised alarm over the state of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), alleging that the aviation regulator is “cracking under pressure” due to severe understaffing, underfunding, and lack of autonomy.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session, Chadha termed the situation within the DGCA a “crisis”, highlighting that 55 per cent of technical posts remain vacant in 2024.
“India’s civil aviation sector is booming, no doubt. But it appears that the regulator, the DGCA — which is the backbone of the sector — is cracking up under pressure. I say this because it is understaffed, underfunded, and lacks autonomy,” Chadha said.
Citing a parliamentary standing committee report, Chadha said, “In the year 2024, I am not talking about overall vacancies in technical posts; there is a 55 per cent vacancy in technical posts within DGCA.”
He stressed the critical nature of technical roles at DGCA, which include air safety inspections, pilot licensing, passenger safety, aircraft maintenance, and airworthiness. “There is no margin of error in the sky,” he warned.
He urged the government to convert DGCA into a fully autonomous statutory body, similar to SEBI in the financial sector or TRAI in telecom. Chadha also sought an answer as to when the vacant technical posts would be filled.
Chadha’s remarks come in the wake of the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash involving Air India flight 171, which killed 240 people. The crash, followed by a series of technical glitches across the aviation industry, has brought aviation safety and regulatory oversight under intense scrutiny. (IANS)
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