New Delhi:
Top government sources say the aviation ministry is looking at appointing an independent panel to better manage the merger of Air India. And the ministry is looking at E Sreedharan, who retires from the Delhi Metro Corporation in about six months.
Interestingly, the metro man had bailed out the aviation ministry in 2006, when privatising the Delhi and Mumbai airports had become a very contentious issue. However, sources say there's no word on whether Sreedharan would accept such an assignment, as the ministry is yet to formally approach him.
The aviation ministry's moves comes barely two weeks after a panel of MPs headed by Sitaram Yechury criticised the aviation minister for merging Indian Airlines and Air India without doing proper homework.
The aviation ministry's immediate priority is to keep the airline afloat. That's why a group of ministers on Wednesday, while clearing 800 crores as equity infusion, asked the airline to come up with a turnaround plan if it wants more funds - as the government cannot go on indefinitely funding the ailing airline.
The aviation minister clearly hinted the plan should include tough measures like pay cuts for its 30,000-strong workforce. "Massive cost cutting is imperative. And for that we have to take strong measures and extra-ordinary decisions," said Praful Patel.