On policy front, most issues have been finalised: Ashok Lavasa

Interview with Secretary-designate, Ministry of Environment

Civil aviation secretary Ashok Lavasa is set to take charge as secretary in the ministry of environment, forests and climate change. In an interview with Sharmistha Mukherjee, Lavasa looks back at his stint in the civil aviation sector. Edited excerpts:

What were the key areas you focused on in your stint as secretary in the civil aviation ministry?

Basically, we were working on some policy initiatives. The revised policy for regional and remote area connectivity has been floated for comments from stakeholders. A policy has been put together for the maintenance, repair and overhaul industry, and the design for no-frills airports has been finalised. The air freight city policy is likely to come out next week. We have done a lot of work and reviewed regulations, which affect cargo operations. The manual on flexi-use of airspace is now ready, we had a meeting on the issue last week. The Civil Aviation Authority Bill and the proposal to hive off air navigation services are in final stages. On the policy side, most issues have been brought to a stage where they can have already been finalised or will be completed in a month or two.

What are the issues your successor would have to address immediately?

Great attempts have been made to revamp the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Over the past six months, we have systematically reviewed vacancies in the organisation. We have conducted seven or eight DPCs (departmental promotion committees) to fill vacant positions. On the whole issue of downgrade, we have been able to reach a stage where our officials have been able to meet specified requirements and approach the Federal Aviation Administration. The audit is yet to take place.

The ministry has been closely monitoring the performance of Air India. What are your views about the progress made by the national carrier?

Whether it is on-time performance or reduction in operational losses, Air India has shown improvement in all parameters. It has been able to rationalise routes and start new services to Moscow, Rome and Milan. It has been inducted into Star Alliance and is in the process of signing of an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with NBCC (National Buildings Construction Corporation) for monetisation of assets. However, it still has a lot to do more in terms of maintenance of aircraft and reducing repair time to ensure that aircraft get back faster into service.