Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S R Reddy’s death in a chopper crash has come as a wake-up call for the Civil Aviation Ministry, which has now decided to issue a set of guidelines to bring aircraft operated by the states under the purview of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

These regulations, to be part of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), will include comprehensive instructions for operations, airworthiness and safety aspects of state air services. The decision was taken at a meeting the Ministry held with state civil aviation officials, in presence of the Airport Authority of India and DGCA heads.

The new regulations will require the states to obtain air service authorisation from the DGCA within four months. “States will be required to upgrade their existing resources and facilities to ensure higher degree of safety by doing extensive internal and external audits,” said Civil Aviation Secretary M Nambiar. The new guidelines, known as One Level Safety, will extend DGCA’s safety oversight to all kinds of private and state aircraft operations.

As of now, with the exception of north-eastern states, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa, all states operate a total of 35 aircraft for VVIPs. While Rajasthan and Jammu-Kashmir have a non-scheduled operator permit, the rest operate without any permit. The DGCA will also undertake a one-time safety audit of state aviation services.