Lok Sabha members ask for airfare regulation mechanism
‘Cutting across party lines, MPs demand an authority, which could be a quasi-judicial body on the lines of SEBI, to look into issues related to unregulated airfares, including ‘cartelisation’
The proceedings of the Lok Sabha are underway during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on July 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Cutting across party lines, Lok Sabha members on July 26 were unanimous in demanding a mechanism, which could be a quasi-judicial body on the lines of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to look into the issues related to unregulated airfares, including “cartelisation” in airfare fixation.
The discussion took place on a private member’s resolution moved by Congress MP Shafi Parambil from Kerala’s Vadakara on appropriate measures to regulate airfare. Mr. Parambil thanked Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu for his reply to a related question on Thursday, stating that the Minister intended to address the problems being faced by the Indian diaspora due to the aviation sector.
Mr. Parambil said the diaspora, most of whom belonged to the lower- and middle-class families working overseas, were being unfairly treated owing to exorbitant airfares, particularly charged during holidays. He sought urgent government intervention to resolve the problem faced by the community which sent remittances running into billions. He said currently, the airfares were not market-driven, but greed-driven.
BJP’s Dushyant Singh, Nishikant Dubey, and Bhartruhari Mahtab supported the move. Terming it a legacy problem owing to the policies adopted during the Congress-led rule at the centre, Mr. Dubey said the issue should be dealt with holistically, in terms of international passengers, domestic passengers, and cargo transportation. He said under the Narendra Modi regime, the country now had 157 airports, and large-scale developments had taken place. However, he said there was cartelisation in airfare fixation.
Mr. Dubey said that airlines catering to smaller airports under the Udan Scheme discontinued the route once the scheme ended. He suggested a mechanism on the lines of Universal Service Obligation Fund created under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for the telecom sector and a penalty provision in case neglected areas were not nursed. He said the airlines companies could make profit at some places, and serve others as a social obligation. The BJP leader said a committee comprising representatives of the Ministry and associated bodies could be set up to monitor the basis for dynamic pricing. Mr. Mahtab said an agency like SEBI was required.
N.K. Premachandran of Revolutionary Socialist Party said about three million people working in the Middle East, over 90% of them from lower- and middle-income strata, were being looted by almost all the airlines. He sought information on the instances in which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation chief had taken action for excessive fare. Congress’s Gurjeet Singh Aujla also expressed concern over the issue.
DMK’s Kalanidhi Veeraswamy flagged the problems faced by stranded passengers due to flight cancellations. He said domestic airlines should have the facility of announcements in regional languages and also urged the Minister to expedite the completion of three airports lined up in Tamil Nadu.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also introduced three private member Bills, including one seeking to reserve 10 seats in the Lok Sabha for persons below 35 years of age and another for 1% reservation for transgender persons across categories in government establishments, including educational institutions.
Over 31 private member Bills were introduced in the lower House. Among them were the ones moved by MP Chandrashekhar Azad to set up residential schools for Scheduled Caste/Tribe children and seeking reservation for SC, ST, and Other Backward Classes in the private sector; Congress MP Dean Kuriakose’s Bill to regulate and control rabid animals for prevention and control of rabies; and another by Mr. Dubey for the rehabilitation and welfare of victims of floods caused due to heavy rains, cyclones, and other reasons.
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