CHENNAI, AUG 24: The Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering a new Civil Aviation Act to replace the existing one which has been found to be outdated.Confirming this to The Indian Express, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayanthi Natarajan, said the objective of the new Act is to make the Civil Aviation sector ``more streamlined''.

The Ministry is examining the desirability of framing a comprehensive Civil Aviation Act to replace the existing Aircraft and other Acts governing Civil Aviation, to take care of various requirements arising from technological and other developments in the field.

A committee has been formed for this purpose under the chairmanship of Civil Aviation Secretary M K Kaw. The other members are Law Secretary V K Agarwal, Legislative Secretary K L Mohanpuria, Civil Aviation Joint Secretaries Anil Baijal, A P Singhal, Joint Secretary (Finance and Administration) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation P K Brahma, Airports Authority of India Chairman Ranjan Chatterjee, Director-General of Civil Aviation H S Kohla, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Commissioner F C Tripathi, Indian Airlines Chairman and Managing Director P C Sen, Air India Managing Director Michael Mascarenhas and Pawan Hans Chairman and Managing Director Major General G S Hundal.

The existing constitution was enacted in 1934 and it has lost its relevance in the present context of development in the industry and the Open Skies Policy. A meeting has been fixed on Aug 26 in Delhi to review the present Act, the rules and regulations in the Civil Aviation sector and the shortcomings in the old Act.

One major area which will be dealt with in the new Act is the provision of foreign equity participation in Indian carriers, NRI investment, regulation of equity participation and prescribing norms.

A draft proposal of the Act is being prepared by the Ministry. There is also a proposal to form a Civil Aviation Authority which will function as a regulatory organisation.

At present, there is no institution or legal frame-work for regulation of Civil Aviation.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.