NEW DELHI: Multiple instances of 'conflict of interest' have been found among the senior officials of the aviation regulator DGCA. Actions have been taken against total 12 senior officers in last few years.
The officers include two Joint Director Generals, two Directors (Safety) among others. In most of the cases, actions have been taken against the officers for not obtaining prior sanction of the government for employment of his son, daughter or wife in private aviation companies.
In one such instance, AK Sharan, Joint Director General, faced charge of misusing his position to get CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence) for his daughter and also got her employed with an aviation company. As per the rules, he was subjected to a major penalty in October 2016.
Similarly, Charan Dass, Joint Director General, was charged for not obtaining prior sanction for employment of his daughter at an aviation company. Similar action was also taken against him in September 2015.
Whistleblower Yeshwant Shenoy termed this as 'extremely dangerous'. "It is extremely dangerous as it directly impacts air safety," Shenoy said adding that there might be only a dozen such instances in the official record, and he himself has complained many a times about this.
Earlier in November 2019, the DGCA had directed its officers not to engage in spot checks or deliberations where there is conflict of interest. "Avoidance of conflict of interest is a sine qua non of good governance. Instances of DGCA officers participating in meetings/spot checks have come to notice in which this golden rule has been given a go-bye. Therefore, this intervention is made to reiterate that under no circumstances, any of DGCA officials shall partake in deliberations/ spot checks or any other official engagement...," the notification issued by DGCA said.