NEW DELHI: Three senior offcials from the DGCA - the country's aviation regulator- were suspended for issuing licences classifying 28 flying schools as charitable non-profit entities instead of fully commercial entities.
According to sources close to the ministry, Joint Director General A K Sharan and two other officials at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been suspended and an FIR has been lodged against the erring flying clubs.
The wrong classification has caused a loss of Rs 190 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). These clubs were registered under the charitable category paid a nominal fee of just 10% of the original fee they owed the government.
This nominal charge is only permitted for those that are registered as educational societies and run on no-profit no-loss basis, and not as profit-making entities. "The subsidised rates were extended to 28 flying clubs without proper examination," the source said.
This was reported in The Times of India, a sister publication of The Economic Times, in its edition dated February 28, 2012. "After a MLA made a complaint about certain flying clubs getting facilities of Category I or charitable flying clubs not fulfilling the required criteria, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) made an enquiry and submitted a report to the aviation ministry last month," a highly placed source said.
Based on the recommendations of the CVC, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh took the requisite action against the people involved, the source added.
While, the CVC has called this a case of criminal conspiracy between the DGCA officials and the erring flying clubs, the AAI has been asked to recover its dues of Rs 190 crore by the end of this month.
Last year in October, DGCA's audit of the 40 flying schools of the country revealed that almost all of them were flouting safety norms and were issued notices to comply with rules or else face a shut down.
False logging of flying hours, violation of standard operating procedures and lack of infrastructure were the two main discrepancies that surfaced in this audit 
DGCA officials suspended for causing loss of Rs 190 cr - The Economic Times