CIVIL aviation minister C M Ibrahim has recommended an extension for Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Air Vice Marshal H M Shahul "" a move that has become tinged by controversy as the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has already empanelled two persons for the post and has sent the recommendation to the ministry.
This has raised a curious question: whose view will prevail, that of the minister or of PESB, which is the statutory body for key appointments in the PSUs.
Ibrahim's position has become somewhat weakened because an extension in this case will be palpably illegal because the Airport Authority of India Act bars anyone above the age of 60 to hold the post of chairman.
AVM Shahul attains that age on October 14 and as per the legal provision he cannot continue in the post unless the act is amended. This does not seem feasible at this moment.
Second, PESB has empanelled Anand Darbari, chairman cum managing director of Cement corporation of India, to be successor to Shahul. The second man on the panel is retired Lieutenant General Iyengar.
What makes it more interesting is that the civil aviation secretary Yogesh Chandra was on the interview board when Darbari was selected as number one claimant for the post. The PESB is itself headed by N Vittal, a heavyweight bureaucrat and a former secretary in the department of telecommunications. The PSEB's recommendation is subject to approval, first by the ministry and then by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC). But ignoring the PESB's recommendation would amount to outright flouting of the well-settled norms.
Second, it is reported that the recommendation for Shahul's extension was sent to the PMO before the PESB's recommendations were received in the ministry. So, even if it were to pick one of the names suggested by the PESB, the ministry cannot send a second name to the PMO for the same post.
Another dimension to the issue is that AVM Shahul heads the sub-committee which has to recommend to the Air India board which of the three MCLR aircraft suppliers "" Airbus Industrie, Boeing, and McDonnel Douglas "" should be picked for the prestigious over $3 billion order. If AVM Shahul continues, he will have to submit the crucial report to the A-I board. Otherwise, the job will be done by the one who succeeds him.
Shahul is also on the committee which has to suggest the name of the supplier for purchase of 50-seaters for Indian airlines for which there is a dogfight among the three main contenders "" Saab, Bombardier and ATR.
The development has both puzzled and intrigued the aviation circles. The ministry officials are tightlipped. Minister Ibrahim was not available for comment.