Is removal of DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan a political tiff?

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry sprang a surprise by removing the country’s aviation regulator E.K. Bharat Bhushan from his post barely a week after his tenure was extended to December.

Sources said Mr. Bhushan was in the midst of preparing a report recommending that ailing Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. be closed down. In the report, he said that Kingfisher did not have adequate number of aircraft, was finding it difficult to acquire aviation turbine fuel and had not paid salary dues for six months. Other than not keeping the promise of running the airline according to the schedule submitted to the DGCA, the airline was a danger to its passengers as pilots were flying under immense stress.

Bhushan had built a reputation as a tough administrator in his 20-month tenure. From computerising licensing exams in response to the fake pilots scam to focussing strongly on aircraft safety, he had taken a number of steps to clean up an industry that badly needed it.

The job of the civil aviation ministry is to look after the safety of air passengers. On no account must Singh compromise it in response to pressures from the airline lobby.

Ajit is expected to discuss the removal with Manmohan Singh tomorrow. The ministry has written a letter to the Prime Minister explaining why the step was taken. The secretary has also informed the cabinet appointments committee.