New Delhi: Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad has said that government departments and autonomous bodies owe around Rs 214.40 crore to Air India. In response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha by a bunch of MPs like Asaduddin Owaisi and Sougata Ray, among others, Dr Karad said, "Government Departments/Autonomous Bodies owe Air India Rs 244.78 crore as on September 30, 2021. Out of this, Rs 30.38 crore has been recovered as on 30.11.2021."
The Finance Ministry had issued a memorandum in October that directed all Central ministries and government departments to clear dues of Air India immediately. The memo had been issued by the Department of Expenditure (DoE). "All ministries/departments are directed to clear Air India's due immediately. Air tickets from Air India may be purchased in cash until further instructions," the memorandum had said.
Under a 2009 memorandum, in any case, where the Central government is bearing the cost of air travel for officials including for LTC (leave travel concession), tickets can only be purchased from Air India. Air India officials have previously cited issues of large government dues on account of VVIP travel, evacuation operations and other official travel as part of the reason for working capital issues.
The government has just concluded the privatisation of Air India and named Tata Sons as the highest bidder. M/s Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of M/s Tata Sons Pvt Ltd which won the bid, had quoted an enterprise value of Rs 18,000 crore, of which the cash component is Rs 2,700 crore and the balance is the debt component. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of this month.
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