Judiciary cannot make legislation: Venkaiah Naidu
Mumbai (PTI): Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday upheld the supremacy of the legislature in law-making and asserted that the judiciary has no role in the process.
Addressing the National Legislators Conference here, Naidu said Constitution has clearly defined roles for the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and none should "think they are supreme and overstep their limits".
"The legislative powers are solely given to the legislative bodies. Whether legislation is in accordance with the Constitutional provision or not, let the courts decide. But, courts cannot make legislation. The judiciary cannot make legislation, this has to be borne in mind," the former vice president said.
"The legislature decides, the executive implements and finally if anybody violates the provisions one can go to court. The judiciary must be dynamic and they must dispose of at the earliest," Naidu said.
The former vice president's remarks come in the wake of a row over the Constitutional separation of powers as the Supreme Court directed setting up a three-member committee to select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners till Parliament enacts a law to the effect.
Naidu also expressed anguish over the repeated disruptions in legislative assemblies and Parliament.
He suggested that political parties evolve a code of conduct for their party legislators and ensure that unruly scenes, tearing of papers and breaking of microphones are avoided in the legislative assemblies and Parliament.
"I am not trying to say that there should not be opposition, differences, and disagreements in the House. In fact, protests, differences, consent-disagreement, arguments, debates, and differences are the features of our democracy," Naidu said.
"But the protest must be dignified and in accordance with parliamentary norms. Our behaviour should be based on respect for each other and this should be consistently maintained during debate and protest in the assembly," he said.
Naidu said people's representatives should not do any such work inside or outside the house which reduces the efficiency and dignity of parliamentary democracy.
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.
"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.
Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.
The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.
With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.
Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.
NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.
Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.
YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.
"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.
On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.
Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.
Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.
The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.
The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.
The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.
In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.
