People's Democracy

Privatisation Of Delhi & Mumbai Airports

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on April 4, 2006.

THE UPA government has today gone ahead with the privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports by signing the shareholders agreement and OMDA document between the Airports Authority of India and the private companies consortia to allow them the right to operate, maintain, finance and manage the airports.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly disapproves this action as this is in gross violation of the Common Minimum Programme. The CMP explicitly states that “Generally profit making companies will not be privatised” and “all privatisation will be considered on a transparent and consultative case-by --- case basis.”

Making a mockery of transparency, the signing of the agreements have taken place at a point of time, when charges of irregularity are still under judicial scrutiny. Further, the act of signing the documents is also a violation of the commitment of the government given to the employees of the AAI that all issues including modernization of airports will be discussed in a government-AAI-employees tripartite committee. This act of the government ahead of such discussion in the tripartite committee is a clear breach of that agreement.

The government alone will be held responsible for the consequences of the course that it has adopted. (INN)