The reason behind the ministry's ire is that the Air India management has not tabled the proposal for the schemes to the board of directors and has gone to the media to announce the two VRS. The letter disclaims AI's reported inclusion of the VRS issue in the board meeting held on September 8. It adds that no board memorandum was either circulated during the meeting or issued in advance to the board. There was also no formal discussion at the board meeting about the VRS. The management had, in fact, assured the board that it would prepare a viability report for the schemes and get the board's approval before announcing them.

The ministry's missive categoricallymentions that it has learnt about the schemes from the press reports and not through the approved formal channels. Stating that such schemes can have far-reaching financial and administrative impact, the ministry has written that no such scheme can be approved without proper examination and discussion. Sources also point out that any VRS initiative by a public sector undertaking serves as a benchmark for the government to deal with other PSUs and so cannot be invoked without proper attestation.

Berating the publicity that the management has sought for the schemes without a formal approval from the board, ministry officials are also planning to circulate a memorandum pertaining to the validity of the schemes to the concerned ministries and departments.

Meanwhile, the human resources department of Air India has already issued a public notice to all its employees -- except pilots and engineers -- asking them to sign up for the said VRS. Interestingly, both the schemes were already rejected by the Air Indiaemployees associations as not being beneficial to them.

The Air India spokesperson could not be contacted for a comment on this development as he was out of town.

The two VRS schemes proposed by the management of Air India was part of the airline to trim its wage bill. Those availing themselves of it would have got 60 per cent of their total emoluments. The initial time frame of the schemes was for two years with an extension of another three years at the management's discretion.