Hon.
Chairperson, I am raising this Calling Attention because the flagship of Indian
Civil Aviation has been turned red before the open eyes of the entire nation.
Villains are those who are still there in the heart of the organization. Payment
of salaries is not being made. But that is not the main issue. The main issue
is that the national carrier is being dismantled gradually by the people. This
is being dismantled by those who are there in power and those who are in
charge. This is yet another untold story of an exposed nexus between
politicians, bureaucrats and unidentified players who wielded power in the
corridor of State apparatus of the country. The major question is whether the
merger has done the wrong. Many people objected to the merger. Even the
management of Indian Airlines objected to it.140
At that time, the Indian Airlines was making profit. But, after the merger
suddenly it started coming down. It has160
gone so low that it cannot pay wages to its employees. It has to depend on
Government dole even to pay for the oil bill. The second important question is
why Air India turned red within four years, and why the decline was so fast. Why
was it shamelessly overlooked by the Government? You asked me why the situation
came about and you got the answer now. Why is there an unusual shopping spree?
Initially, only 28 aircraft were sought to be purchased. But there was a change
of guard. After that, 40 new aircraft were added to the list of purchase. In
this way, 68 aircraft were purchased and most of the aircrafts are very
expensive and highly oil-consuming. 280
The general perception is that the more is the purchase, the greater is the
booty. As a result, this heavy burden of unusual purchase has brought about the
debacle. When the purchase was being made, the Boeing company defaulted320 in the supply of 30 aircraft and
delivery has not taken place for three years. You can easily cancel the order
and save crores of rupees. Not only that, you can ask for damage. Nothing is
being done. What is the confidentiality for not cancelling the order? Let us
know for whose benefit this is being done.
This
is not the full story. While new aircraft were being purchased, what is the
flying time of the existing fleet? One aircraft flies eight hours. You are a
senior person in Parliament and you often travel by air. You know that if one420 aircraft is flying only for eight hours,
it is a shameful performance of the management. Normally, 12 to 13 hours is the
time when break-even can be achieved. International standard is 19 hours a day.
We are purchasing new aircraft, but our aircraft are not flying. For whom is purchase
being made? Not only that, there is something more. 480 When you are purchasing 68 aircraft,
please explain why eight aircraft are grounded. It is because spare parts
cannot be purchased. Brand new aircraft are on ground because you cannot
purchase the spare parts. You cannot fly because you do not have the
infrastructure or the money to buy the oil. There was no due diligence done
before the order for purchase of new aircraft was given. It is not just
irregularity or non-performance; it is a total violation of the560 rule of governance in the country. I do
not know whether I should laugh or cry at the ignorance of the management because
they are completely insensitive to the problems of the people. The point that I
would like to make is this. Why are the retired people being re-engaged at high
salary when the Air India is in the red? Is it to form a coterie around the
Chairman? Secondly, why are you keeping foreign pilots when there640 are Indian pilots? I take this
opportunity to compliment the women pilots of India who are doing so much
better than male pilots. Nearly 100 female pilots have already joined. I am
concluding with just two more points. Firstly, Air India is being looted by its
guardians. Corruption is all pervasive and criminality is all around. The
people who are responsible700
must be put on the dock. The turnaround cannot be done in piecemeal; it has to
be at one go. Please bring about a radical surgery and give the money after
that. Otherwise, it will be like a bottomless pit, and money will go down the
drain. Lastly, my friend from the other House gave me some papers. I want that
the Minister should not be a post box for receiving the complaints. He must act
decisively. I know what you will say, but removing one man is not the solution.
You have to change the entire management. 800
Put the money at one go and monitor them, and ensure that the flagship of
Indian aviation does not sink.
Hon.
Members have voiced their concerns on various critical issues. Firstly, they
said that illegal organ trade in the country has been840 a matter of great concern. The present
Bill seeks to address this issue. Further effective steps would be required to
implement it in right earnest. Secondly, the experience shows that the poor are
often exploited as donors for the rich recipients. They donate under compulsion
of poverty. Therefore, the Government should address this issue effectively.
This was the demand of the hon. Members. Some of the hon. Members also
requested to include ‘Uncle and Aunt’ in the definition of ‘near relatives’ to
facilitate donation. There is a tremendous need for creating awareness to
change the attitude of the general public towards organ donation. The hon.
Members also said that there is a need to incentivise organ donation and
provide financial assistance for the transplantation of organ for the poor and
the needy. I have said in the beginning that the980 main purpose of this Act is to regulate the removal,
storage and transplantation of the human organs for therapeutic purposes and to
prevent commercial dealings in human organs. Despite having this Act, the
transplantation of human organs and tissues is yet to take off in a big way in
this country. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are waiting for
organ transplantation. This set of proposed amendments is an effort of this
Government to provide a new lease of life to the needy persons. The amendments
would help the country immensely. I would now like to respond to some specific
issues raised by hon. Members. One of the hon. Members has underlined the need
to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee in
letter and spirit. I would like to inform this House that the Parliamentary
Standing1120 Committee has
given very useful and constructive recommendations. I have already said that we
have accepted all the recommendations and suggestions of the hon. Committee.
Some of these recommendations are being incorporated into the Act through this
Bill, while others will be addressed by making appropriate amendments in the
rules and by issuing Government instructions. Some other hon. Members have
asked why we have not included ‘Uncle and Aunt’ in the definition of ‘near
relatives’. I think, my hon. friend quoted only the first part, but did not
quote the concluding part which I am going to state here.
I
would like to inform the august House that the Parliamentary Standing Committee
examined this issue in great detail and agreed with the Ministry’s view that
the definition of ‘near relatives’ need not be further expanded to include
other relatives. However, 1260
it is pertinent to point out that the Act allows uncles and aunts to donate
their organs to their1280
relatives out of love and affection with the approval of Authorisation
Committee. So, it is not that uncles and aunts are totally out. I would also
like to inform the hon. Members that we have not only increased the monetary
penalty for contravention of the provisions of this Act, but we have also
proposed to enhance the punishment from five to 10 years of imprisonment for
persons involved in illegal commercial dealings. Many hon. members have raised
the issue of the functions of advisory committee. I would like to assure the
hon. Members that these functions would be spelt out clearly in the Rules. I
completely agree with the suggestions of the Hon. Members regarding the need to
scale up the1400 activities
across the country in a big way. The media will have to play a major role in
this regard. Many speakers have underlined the need of establishing trauma
centres on national highways to save the precious lives of1440 accident victims. In this regard, I
would like to inform the House that 18 such centres have already been
constructed and they are operational in the country. Many more centres are
being established. Keeping in view the requirement, some of these centres would
be utilized as organ retrieval centres. I would like to take this opportunity
to appeal to all the hon. Members of Parliament, the State Governments and the
entire nation to rise to the occasion and create an atmosphere where each and
every individual feels proud to donate his or her organs and tissues for the
welfare of the mankind. Before I conclude, I would also like to express my
gratitude to the hon. Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and hon.
Members of this House who have made very useful and constructive suggestions to
make this Act a truly pro-people piece of legislation. 1586
