Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered a review of the existing fee structure of flying training institutes in the state to make it affordable and cost-effective for young aspirants.
Capt Amarinder, presiding over the second meeting of the Punjab State Civil Aviation Council, of which he is the chairman, said that efforts should be made to enhance the quality of training at these institutes to bring them at par with global standards. He recalled the time when a majority of the commercial pilots engaged by major airlines in India and abroad had their initial training from the Patiala Flying Club.
With flying operations witnessing major changes over the years, the Council should revamp the two operational institutes at Patiala and Amritsar and adopt latest technology and modern flying practices, he said.
Acceding to the Council’s request for up-gradation of flying infrastructure across the state, Capt Amarinder asked the Punjab Technical University to provide Rs 10 crore for this purpose, besides authorising the purchase of two new modern aircraft and runway lighting for the civil aerodrome at Patiala.
The Chief Minister asked Patiala Deputy Commissioner to take up the issue of swapping of a chunk of land between the irrigation and defence authorities to ensure that the land is contiguous for the expansion of the existing runaway at the Patiala civil aerodrome.
He also directed the Deputy Commissioner to intensify the vigil at the aerodrome by deploying more police personnel, besides putting barbed wire across its entire boundary to prevent the entry of stray animals, which pose a major threat to the overall security of the aircraft and the staff.
Emphasising the need to rationalise the salaries and perks of the flying staff, especially training instructors and pilots, to bring them at par with the emoluments being paid to their counterparts by the private airlines, Capt Amarinder said that this initiative would go a long way to promoting hiring of qualified and talented staff. He also asked the Council to revive the non-functional FTO at ludhiana in the next phase, saying that it had tremendous potential to attract the budding flyers of the Malwa region.
Chief Minister also gave the nod to the Finance Department to immediately release requisite funds for the upcoming Punjab Aircraft Maintenance College at Patiala to get its construction work completed by the end of this year, in order to procure timely approval from the All India Council of Technical Education to commence its first academic session from March 2018. Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar asked the Council to constitute a three-member committee to work out the modalities for affiliation of the Punjab Aircraft Maintenance College with the PTU.
The same committee should be mandated to hire the services of some eminent retired professor as Director Principal, with sufficient academic as well as administrative experience from the Department of Aeronautical Engineering from the PEC University of Engineering and Technology, Chandigarh.