Without the right degree or autonomy for the regulatory authority, lack of congruence in objectives between the MoCA and the DGCA as also perpetual political interference that could undermine air safety, the future of the Indian civil aviation industry hardly appears inspiring!

The sudden removal of Bharat Bhushan from the post of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 10, without any reason being assigned, triggered speculation among the aviation industry watchers as to the real intent behind this rather jarring and precipitate action. What added a touch of the bizarre to this decision was that just a week ago the government had approved extension of his tenure up to the end of the year. Besides, given the ongoing turmoil in the airline industry, the decision appears somewhat inopportune. The only official explanation that emanated from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) was that Bharat Bhushan’s extension was a “procedural error” as it was without the minister’s approval. However, given the shady nature of the circumstances surrounding the sordid episode, this explanation appears to be no more than an effort by the MoCA to obfuscate the issue and mislead the nation, an exercise routinely resorted to even by democratically elected governments against their innocent, illinformed and unsuspecting populace.

Bharat Bhushan was already serving as Additional Secretary in the MoCA when he took over as the DGCA from Nasim Zaidi in December 2010. His 19-month tenure as DGCA has indeed been stormy, battling both the ills of the aviation industry and the skulduggery of some of those placed above him in the MoCA. Vayalar Ravi, former Minister of Civil Aviation, was surprised at this move describing Bharat Bhushan as “one of the finest officers he had ever known, one who made all efforts to check corruption in the aviation industry”. Where then did things go wrong for Bharat Bhushan?

During his tenure, Bharat Bhushan adopted a no-nonsense approach and had to negotiate a virtual minefield, tackling cases of violation of safety regulations, large-scale fudging of records of hours flown at flying training establishments and the award of Commercial Pilot Licence on the basis of fraudulent certificates through direct collusion of senior functionaries in his directorate. A notable achievement of his tenure has been the computerisation of licensing examinations for pilots and engineers thus achieving high degree of transparency and eliminating the role of touts and middlemen. He displayed tenacity of purpose, the capability of resolute action and the courage to take on the political establishment. In the bargain, Bharat Bhushan could well have made enemies in the aviation industry as well as in the political establishment, the latter also often falling prey to parochialism. As the MoCA is also reported to have been at loggerheads with the PMO over the extension of tenure, it is possible that Bharat Bhushan was a victim of multidimensional internal conflict, lack of coordination or power play within the government duly abetted by external factors. From media reports, it appears that differing perceptions, divergence of views and perhaps even conflict between the DGCA and the MoCA over the maladies afflicting the Indian civil aviation industry, were rather frequent. For reasons of air safety, Bharat Bhushan did not go along with the recommendations of the MoCA to relax the rules for import of old aircraft. He refused to buckle under pressure from the MoCA to renew non-scheduled operator’s permit (NSOP) of an influential business house in Mumbai that had violated import regulations. The concerned agency is believed to have imported an aircraft under NSOP when it was meant for private use, essentially to avoid payment of import duty. Not surprisingly, Bharat Bhushan was overruled by the MoCA.