Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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New ground handling policy deferred
STREAMLINING OF POLICY TO ACHIEVE WORLD CLASS STANDARDS IN GROUND HANDLING
New Delhi : July 1, 2009
The Government has decided to defer the implementation of the new ground handling policy till 31 December, 2009. The Ministry of CA will now undertake a thorough review of the policy and submit a comprehensive proposal to the Government after all necessary inter-Ministerial consultations before 31 December, 2009.
The Government had on 1 February, 2007 approved a new ground handling policy wherein it was decided that ground handling at all Indian metro-politan airports would be undertaken by;
(i) The airport operator itself or its JV partner.
(ii) Subsidiary companies of the national carrier (NACIL) or its JV.
(iii) Any other ground handling service provider selected through a competitive bidding process.
At all other airports, in addition to the above entities, the airline operators, except that foreign airlines shall also be permitted to undertake self-handling. Airline operators or ground handling service providers not covered by this policy shall not be allowed to undertake self-handling or third party handling once this policy becomes operational.
However, after the announcement of the policy, the Ministry of Civil Aviation received a number of representations regarding large-scale loss of employment of personnel employed by airlines in metro airports for ground handling. Airlines have also represented about the loss of substantial investment made in ground handling and other related equipments. The airlines also wished to continue with those aspects of ground handling which required passenger interface like check-in, which directly impact service standards of the airlines and are part of the product offered by them. The airlines have also complained about the charges of ground handling agencies.
To examine these matters thoroughly, to ascertain the readiness of the airport operators and to streamline the policy to achieve world-class standards of ground handling in Indian airports, the Government has decided to defer the implementation of this policy till 31 December, 2009.
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MC/MK /spandey
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Sunderbans Tiger Reserve gets additional assistance of Rs 1 crore
New Delhi : July 1, 2009
Sunderbans Tiger Reserve gets additional assistance of Rs 1 crore. Out of this Rs 75 lakh has been earmarked for eco-development works and Rs 25 lakh will be spent on rebuilding the damaged infrastructure because of the cyclone in the reserve. This will benefit 8,800 families of 26 villages. This special assistance would be in addition to the ongoing support given to the state under Project Tiger for Sunderbans Tiger Reserve.
After the cyclone Aila struck this area, field camps and fringe villages bordering the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve have been damaged. The breaches in the embankments on the village's side have caused large scale flooding, which left lakhs of people marooned in the area. The infrastructure including camps, jetties, approach path, earthen embankments, staff quarters etc will be repaired with this amount. Besides, sal and bamboo poles will be provided to rebuild houses. Affected families will be supplied with salient resistant paddy seeds. Wicker baskets, earth cutting implements, bamboo mats, ropes alsowill be provided for rehabilitation.
This assistance have been provided after the damage assessment submitted by the Chief Wildlife Warden of West Bengal .
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KP /spandey
PIB Kolkata
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited.blogspot.com/
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