The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) — headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh——has struck down the appointment of a senior IAS officer, Anil Srivastava, as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the state-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) since the officer is already holding a senior position in the DGCA.
Mr Srivastava, who is currently the joint director-general of civil aviation (JDGCA), was also appointed the CMD of Pawan Hans as an additional charge a few weeks ago by the civil aviation ministry. The ACC has now ordered the civil aviation ministry to hand over the additional charge of the post of Pawan Hans CMD to a ministry official of the rank of joint secretary.
While the ACC did not spell out the reasons for its decision, government sources said the decision could have been taken on account of a possible conflict of interest if a DGCA official also heads Pawan Hans. In this case, Mr Srivastava, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch belonging to the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is the second-highest ranking officer in the DGCA and could also officiate as the DGCA when the current DGCA is on leave. The DGCA is the aviation regulator in the country and is currently called upon to probe any lapses in adherence to rules and aviation safety by any aviation organisation.
“There appears to be a conflict of interest if the same person occupies posts in both the DGCA and Pawan Hans. That probably explains the latest decision taken at the highest levels by the government,” well-placed Government sources said.
The post of CMD of Pawan Hans had fallen vacant earlier after the then CMD R.K. Tyagi was selected to head the Bengaluru-based defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).
Pawan Hans had hit the headlines last year after two of its helicopters had crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. One of the crashes claimed the life of the then Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu. The DGCA had ordered inquiries into both those crashes.