December 5, 2024
Sagarika Ghose’s speech on The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024
Mr. Deputy Chairman, Sir, this Government has a penchant for changing names. The Indian Penal Code has been changed to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Now, the Indian Aircraft Act has been changed to Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024. But there is nothing much that is new in the Bill. There is a change in name but nothing much that is new. That is because this Government likes to think of itself as a game-changer Government. But it is only a name-changer Government. Sir, why do so many laws have Hindi names? This is imposition of Hindi. The mandate of the people in 2024 was for the diversity, dividend and for the federal principle. But the Government is persisting in the hindification of laws. This is Hindi imposition. Sir, I refer to Article 348 of the Constitution. ‘Any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State shall be in the English language.’ The Bill is actually a little too late. The Government has delayed in bringing the Bill. On 21st June, 2024, the TMC had pointed out the archaic nature of the Aircraft Act of 1934. When it comes to outdated legislation, actually, here, I have to say something good about the Government, I am glad the Government is thinking about modernizing outdated legislation. There are at least 10 to 15 Acts that need to be similarly updated. However, the delay in bringing this legislation has led to outdated regulatory framework, potentially jeopardized safety of passengers and stunted the industry’s growth. Sir, the first big problem with the Bill is that there is no provision for reasonable tariff in this Bill. Airfares are literally sky high. What protection is there for the common people against relentless price rise of tickets? There is no provision for making tariff reasonable. The holiday season is coming. Invariably, prices of tickets will go up. What provision is there in the Bill to protect passengers from surged pricing and huge spike in fares? I would like to know what modalities exist in this Bill to stop airlines from using their dominant market share to fleece common passengers. Today vegetable prices are at a 57- month high. Retail inflation has surged by six per cent. Household budgets are under strain. How can common citizens afford these exorbitant airfares? I would also like to say that the tendering process for airports and bidding must be made transparent. The process must not be hostage to this Government’s characteristic of crony capitalism. One of the top e-tendering States in the country today is Bengal. The Government should follow the Bengal model. From ground to sky, there should be no monopolies. Today, in aviation, a state-owned monopoly has become a private-owned duopoly. Is this to the benefit of the passengers? We must ask this question. Aviation must serve the common people, not just the maharaja class, not just the zamindar class. Sir, this Bill gives overarching powers to the Union Government. The Government has installed itself as the overseeing authority over three regulators, the DGCA, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The Minister said that the Bill has changed the appeal system. Appeals against an order of the DGCA or the BCAS will lie before the Central Government. No further appeals will be allowed against the Central Government’s orders. Therefore, the Government has the final word. If all control is with the Government, who will check the Government’s mistakes? These amendments should not be used as a tool by the Central Government to illegitimately expand the scope of its executive powers. The concentration of power raises grave concerns about potential misuse. The young Minister comes from a party which is strong in his State. He will understand when States are deprived … When States are deprived of a voice… When the Central Government is not mindful of the claims of a State… Stop depriving States who oppose you politically. Sir, the practice of this Government is not to send Bills for scrutiny to Standing Committees. The privatisation of Air India, leading to the transfer of its ownership in 2022, was not sent to a committee for wider deliberations. Within private airlines, are safety norms being maintained? Cabin crews are meant to share rooms on layovers and thus are not well rested for flights. This poses huge dangers for passenger security. Sir, there are inadequate provisions in this Bill for new technology. New technology like drones and issues involving the use of drones, such as aircraft targeting and surveillance, have not been provided in this Bill. We cannot leave regulation of new technology to delegated legislation. It is important to expand the scope of the parent Act itself. This year, there have been 999 bomb threats, hoax bomb threats on Indian carriers. What provision is there in this Bill to deal with these kinds of technological threats? The Minister spoke of pilot training. But every year in winter, hundreds of flights are delayed due to fog. The main reason for flight diversion is that pilots are not trained for operating CAT-III navigation control system. What technology has been provided for in this Bill so that CAT-III can be adequately upgraded so that pilots can land in fogbound airports? Sir, there are some infrastructure issues. More than 56 accidents have taken place in the airline sector in the last five years until 2023. There have been around 100 cases of structural collapse and 10 cases of rainwater leakage across airports in India from 2019 to 2024. For the Airports Authority of India, civil works maintenance dropped from 11.9 per cent in financial year 2021 to 8.5 per cent in financial year 2023. In GMR-led Delhi International Airport, funding on airport maintenance dropped from 4.9 per cent in financial year 2022 to 4.4 per cent in financial year 2023. This comes at a time when User Development Fee being charged from passengers is on the rise. There are 164 aeroplanes lying idle at airports of 15 major cities as of December 2023. This has been stated by the Government itself in Parliament. The Minister said that there are 74 airports. But how many of these airports are functional? And how many airlines do actually fly to these airports? We have to ask that question. How many airports under UDAN scheme have been completed? Sir, I want to make a point here. This is important. It is about the moral economy of our country. Airlines have a public responsibility and a social responsibility. They must be encouraged to practise their corporate social responsibility. When people need to be moved for medical emergencies or for other emergencies, we must have flights on standby. For example, there have been 244 consequential train accidents between 2017 and 2022. When there are train accidents or there are floods, airlines could operate more airlines at reasonable rates to fly people to the spot. Airlines should not seek to profit from disaster. Airlines should not seek to make profit from the suffering of people by charging more rates, by charging higher fares, and by reducing capacity during a disaster. So, this is the moral, social, corporate and public responsibility of airlines. Sir, I would like to say that safety and accessibility to all must be the buzzwords. Air travel must be accessible to all and possess the highest safety standards as possibly as can be met. Civil aviation must be people’s aviation. Not all of us can fly in Maharaja class. Civil aviation must be the people’s aviation; civil aviation must not just be for the billionaires. Thank you.
