Airports owe Rs 970-cr security dues to CISF
New Delhi, Oct 8: Dues amounting to about Rs 970 crore are pending against various airports in the country in lieu of providing CISF security to them, a top official of the paramilitary force said Monday.
CISF Director General (DG) Rajesh Ranjan told reporters during an interaction here that while an amount of Rs 880 crore is pending against 'joint venture' airports or the privately-run facilities, about Rs 90 crore is due against those airports which are operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Out of the Rs 880 crore amount, the maximum Rs 788 crore is pending against the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, run by the DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), he said.
"We have communicated this to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Home Affairs as they are the expert ministries to figure out (the solution)," the DG said.
Ranjan added that any call on withdrawal of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) from these airports, owing to the dues, can be taken by the two ministries as they are "authorised to take a call on that."
The CISF is tasked as the security force to guard civil airports in the country but as of now only 60 such facilities are under its cover.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
