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Tata Group sets up ₹500 crore trust for Air India plane crash victims
Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have committed to contributing ₹250 crore each to the trust, including an ex gratia payment of ₹1 crore to the families of victims
NEW DELHI: Tata Sons on Friday announced setting up a public charitable trust for the victims of the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12.
“The Trust will be called ‘The AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust’, dedicated to the victims of the unfortunate accident of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad,” Tata Sons said in a statement.
It said the memorial trust, registered in Mumbai, will provide immediate and continuing support to the dependents and next-of-kin of the deceased, those injured in the accident, and to all others who are directly or collaterally affected by the accident.
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It would also provide aid and assistance for the alleviation of any trauma or distress suffered by “first responders, medical and disaster relief professionals, social workers and governmental staff who provided invaluable institutional support and service” in the aftermath of the accident.
The Trust will be managed and administered by a five-member Board of Trustees. The initial two trustees appointed to the Board are S Padmanabhan, a former Tata veteran and Sidharth Sharma, Tata Sons’ General Counsel. Other trustees will be appointed soon.
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The crash killed all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is investigating the air crash, released a preliminary 15-page report on Saturday that said both the fuel switches were moved to the “cutoff” position moments after the aircraft left the tarmac. The aircraft, a Boeing 787, experienced an engine stall just three seconds after takeoff.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran announced soon after the accident that the group would provide ₹1 crore to the families of the victims and provide support in building the medical college hostel that bore the brunt of the crash.
Friday’s statement reiterated this commitment.
“Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have together pledged to contribute Rs. 500 crores (with both committing Rs. 250 crores each) for the Trust’s philanthropic objects, which will include ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1 crore for those deceased, medical treatment of those who suffered serious injuries, and support for rebuilding the B.J. Medical College hostel infrastructure which was damaged in the accident.
The statement said the Trust will begin work after registration with tax authorities and other operational formalities.
