The Central Bureau of Investigation is set to register a regular case (RC) by lodging a first information report (FIR) against aircraft manufacturer Airbus,the erstwhile Indian Airlines and at least six civil aviation ministry officials for alleged lapses in the enforcement of concessions worth $175 million extracted by an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) before concluding a Rs 8,399-crore deal to supply 43 aircraft to the state-owned carrier in September 2005. The CBI has sought the governments sanction to prosecute a former Indian Airlines employee,who is now posted in the government at the level of additional secretary. The sanction has been sought under Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act following receipt of which the FIR will be lodged, a CBI official told The Indian Express. The FIR may not specifically name Airbus executives. Serving and retired civil aviation ministry officials as well as Indian Airlines officials who were members of the purchase committee would,however,be named,the official said. The filing of an RC follows a preliminary enquiry (PE) registered by the CBI against unknown persons early last year for allegedly diluting clauses that committed the aircraft manufacturer to set up an MRO (maintenance,repair and overhaul) unit,a training centre,and a warehouse for spares valued at over $175 million in the final agreement signed in February 2006. In September 2005,then finance minister P Chidambaram-led Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) had sealed the purchase deal with Airbus after it agreed to invest $75 million in setting up a training centre,a warehouse and a $100-million MRO in the country. The airline received all 43 aircraft ordered by April 2010. The Comptroller and Auditor Generals report on the aircraft purchase deal tabled in Parliament in September had slammed the Civil Aviation Ministry for not ensuring enforceability clauses in the final purchase agreement executed by Indian Airlines. The CAG said that the warehouse facility for aircraft spares had not been established. And that though Indian Airlines had entered into a JV with EADS,Airbuss parent company,in October 2008,there was no tangible progress towards setting it up. Airbus sent a a letter on April 18 this year confirming its commitment to facilitate investments required for training facilities and MRO. The flight training at Bengaluru and full flight simulator for A320 and ATR had commenced from November 2007. Earlier,responding to a CBI query on enforceability of concessions,the Ministry had sought the law ministrys opinion. The Law Ministry advised that either the ministry or the carrier sign a supplementary agreement with Airbus reiterating the concessions with specifics about the monetary value and timelines. And that the purchase agreement read with the minutes of the EGoMs final negotiations with Airbus made it clear that the concessions were enforceable. CBI officials,however,said the Law Ministry was yet to respond to its query regarding the tenability of the EGoMs negotiations. The CBI had also asked the Civil Aviation ministry if the concessions were enforceable. Secondly,whether the purchase agreement signed between erstwhile Indian Airlines and Airbus was legally vetted, another official familiar with the development said. When contacted,Civil Aviation minister Vayalar Ravi told The Indian Express : The manufacturer will have to abide by its commitments. It will be asked to fulfil the concessions. EADS said it was committed to supporting the development of commercial aviation and related infrastructure. The group is actively pursuing the creation of MRO centres in India together with local partners. With a share of the commercial aircraft market above 70 per cent,it is in our interest to have training and MRO facilities in India, it said.
