Parliamentary panel against giving more powers to DGCA

New Delhi, Mar 18 (UNI) The government's move to give more powers to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been knocked down by a parliamentary committee which says it will result in overlapping of powers and compound confusion.

''The Bill, if enacted, will result in overlapping of powers of both governmental organisations -- the DGCA and Airports Authority of India (AAI),'' said the parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture in its report.

''Without amending or repealing the AAI Act of 1994, the government simply cannot confer the same powers to another body through a different Act.'' It said the Aircraft Amendment Bill, 2006 is a piecemeal effort of the government as lot of ambiguities existed regarding the role of AAI, its powers and functions. ''The government should become more futuristic while bringing any new legislation," said the committee.

The objectives behind the bill are commendable but the legislation introduced for the purpose is found to be lacking in many accounts, the parliamentary panel said.

''The committee feels that no proper thinking has gone into preparation of the bill and that it has been hastily drafted.'' Among other things, the bill seeks to regulate foreign registered aircraft operating in or over India, safeguarding civil aviation against unlawful interference, empowering the DGCA for performing its oversight functions and enlarging its scope of powers.

The bill also seeks to impose penalty for contravention of the Chicago Convention.

UNI