Key independent directors may quit AI board

“Mahindra,Neotia and Mitra are likely to meet the civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi to speak their mind on Air India soon,” an official source told The Indian Express.

Some of the independent directors have expressed their desire to quit the Air India board during a recent official discussion,another official source said.

Mahindra may be wanting to quit because of a possible conflict of interest,with his company planning to enter the aircraft Maintainence,Repair and Overhaul business,said sources.

Mahindra is also learnt to have cited time constraints and inability to contribute meaningfully as a Board member.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (Ficci) Mitra,on the other hand,may get busy with the upcoming elections in West Bengal,they added. Neotia has expressed unhappiness over the functioning of the Board.

When contacted,a Board member said,“The independent directors had started raising questions on some day-to-day affairs of the company rather than providing strategic inputs. Key decisions are being delayed.”

“The relationship between Air India management and the independent directors has been less than amicable,” said the official source.

The first instance where the independent directors received a rude shock regarding the functioning style of a government enterprise was over the deal awarding a $1.6-million brand makeover contract to an Australian firm.

Even though the ministry was kept in the loop by Air India and the Board cleared the decision unanimously,Patel publicly rebuked Air India for it.

“Upset by the turn of events,Mahindra had later remarked such an incident should not happen in the future,” said the member.

Other thorns in the relationship have been disagreement over routes and top-level appointments.

“Decisions like flying on a particular route are best left to Air India’s operations wing,and directors should not be meddling in such issues,” said an official,referring to Mitra’s staunch objection to the airline management’s plan to fly to Melbourne.

In November last year,independent directors had complained to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding functioning style of Air India management and its big-ticket appointments.