Air India divestment not possible in near future: Government
New Delhi, July 18 : The Government on Wednesday ruled out disinvestment of Air India in the "immediate near future," though it said it remains committed to completing the process.
Saying that the present environment is "not conducive" for it, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told Rajya Sabha that the issue would be revisited once global economic indicators, including oil prices and forex conditions, stabilize.
The Ministry would, in the meanwhile, focus on near and medium-term efforts to "capture operational efficiencies" to improve the performance of Air India, along with "monetising non-core land and building assets", Sinha said.
The government had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) on March 28 this year for disinvestment of Air India including the national carrier's share-holding interest in the Air India Express Ltd. and Air India SATS. But, it received no response till May 31, the closing day.
"The government remains committed to the disinvestment... The Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) has decided that in view of volatile crude prices and adverse fluctuations in exchange rates, the present environment is not conducive to stimulate interest among investors for strategic disinvestment of Air India in the immediate near future," Sinha said.
The government has also decided to separately deal with the mode of disposal of the subsidiaries such as Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) and Airline Allied Services Limited (AASL).
He said the probable reasons for the lack of interest among bidders include the government's 24 per cent stake and corresponding rights, a high amount of allocated debt, changes in macro environment, individuals not being allowed to bid, the profitability track record, and bidders not being able to form a consortium within the time-frame.
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Pal to visit Hubballi & Vijayapura to interact with farmers affected by Waqf Board action: BJP MP
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday said the Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal will visit Hubballi and Vijayapura in Karnataka on November 7 to interact with farmers allegedly affected by Waqf Board's "predatory action".
The response came days after Surya had requested Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with the Waqf Board.
"Chairman of JPC on Waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubli (Hubballi) and Bijapur (Vijayapura) on 7th November to interact with farmers affected by the Waqf’s predatory action. Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, Mutts and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC," the Bengaluru South MP, who is a member of the Committee, said.
In a October 29 letter, Surya highlighted about his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from Vijayapura district and other areas in the vicinity and had requested Pal to visit the affected regions in Karnataka to receive complaints and grievances and also have a public hearing with the farmers adversely impacted by the Waqf Board's action.
"These farmers, who have cultivated their lands for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as Waqf property in their village alone," he alleged in his letter to Pal.
According to him, the farmers claimed that apart from being served notices, changes have been made in the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops), 'pahani' and mutation registers for some of the land parcels without following the due process of law.
Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah has said that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.
