Par panel questions Air India CMD, surface transport secretary

Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and Surface Transport Secretary Brahm Dutt came under severe questioning by a Parliamentary panel, which went into the plight of the national carrier and the alleged irregularities in a road project on the Delhi-Gurgaon route.

Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and Surface Transport Secretary Brahm Dutt came under severe questioning by a Parliamentary panel, which went into the plight of the national carrier and the alleged irregularities in a road project on the Delhi-Gurgaon route.

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The Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) headed by senior Congress member V Kishore Chandra Deo questioned Dutt over the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi-Gurgaon stretch on the national highway built on public-private partnership basis.

He was called by the Committee in the wake of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) raising concerns over the quality of the 'world-class' highways and commented adversely for "unduly" stretching their construction over longer periods to benefit the contractors.

Sources said Dutt was asked why the National Highway Authority of India did not take into consideration recommendations by research agencies for a revised traffic profile of the busy route.

Jadhav, who also faced searching questions, sought more time to give a presentation on the turnaround plan for Air India, which is deep in the red. He told the committee that since the airline witnessed strike by pilots recently, he needed more time to brief the panel.