Press Release
26th February
2019
CITU CONDEMNS BJP
GOVT’S HASTY MOVE TO PRIVATISE SIX AIRPORTS
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions denounces the hectic move to
hand over six airports of the country mostly in the state capitals cities to
chosen private player on the terms which clearly appear to be a big bonanza to
the most favoured private corporate-the Adani Group, which incidentally had no
exposure to airport or aviation related sector. The airports at Ahmedabad,
Jaipur, Lucknow, Trivundrum, Mangalore and Guwahati have been put on fast track
privatisation with a target to complete the deal well before election is
announced.
All these airports, rather the national assets under sale were
developed and modernized by Airport Authority during the span of last
decade spending thousands of crores of rupees of tax-payers money. Now,
the Modi Govt is in a visible haste to hand over these readymade functional as
well as profit making airports to the private hands at a time when the Govt’s
tenure is coming to end within months.
And for handing over the these readymade modernized airports
with huge real estate assets, altogether new modalities have been discovered by
the BJP Govt, may be to celebrate its latest pre-election deal with corporates,
which is quite innovative to ensure a big bonanza to the most
favoured private buyer. The private operator will be required to pay the
Airport Authority an amount ranging from Rs 115/- to Rs 174/- per
month per passenger. And there will be no sharing of the huge non-aeronautical
commercial revenues out of the real estate and huge commercial space annexed to
every airport, which is always much higher than the aeronautical revenues for
almost all the airports under sale.
It is reported in the media that post-privatisation of these six
airports, Airport Authority will be getting an upfront payment of around Rs
2500 crore within 90 days and thereafter Rs 525 crore annually as concession
fee. Can these paltry return to AAI be compared with the total amount AAI has
spent towards modernization and development of these six airports. If this
comparison is made and also the incremental prospect of revenue
generation from these airports in the background of fast expanding aviation
sector is taken into account honestly, then this major pre-election deal by
Modi Govt is going to be big bonanza to the favoured private player at the
irreparable cost of the national exchequer and national interest too.
CITU opines, as such, there has been no urgency to fast track
the privatisation of these six airports so far operational and financial
efficiency is concerned. The Airport Authority of India successfully developed
and modernized with huge investment by itself almost all the major airports of
the country and has been operating this crucial infrastructure quite
efficiently, both financial and operational. A private new entrant operator
like Adani Group, which have no experience in airport management, is now
being handed over these airports only to benefit the new operators, and not for
better airport operation in the least.
CITU vehemently condemns this hasty pre-election deal of handing
over country’s six airports to favoured private operators by the Govt
which is nothing but a loot of national assets and infrastructure by private
corporate. CITU calls upon the working class in general and the trade union
movement in particular to oppose and resist the privatisation of these six
airports through countrywide agitation and struggle.
(Tapan Sen )
General
Secretary
CITU
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