DGCA faces 50% staff shortage, 823 posts vacant, Govt tells Rajya Sabha
Union Civil Aviation Ministry stated that 823 out of 1644 sanctioned DGCA posts are vacant, but states it will not impact regulatory functions
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is facing a staff shortage of over 50% of its sanctioned staff strength, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday (July 28).
Minister of State, Civil Aviation, Mullidhar Mohal, in a written reply, stated that out of the total 1644 sanctioned posts, 823 are vacant as of date.
Will not affect DGCA’s functioning
“Keeping in view the current and future expansion of civil aviation and enhanced role of DGCA as a safety regulator, 441 posts (including 426 technical posts) were created between 2022 and 2024 under restructuring exercises,” stated Mohol.
He further stated that since the posts have been created to address the requirements of DGCA, the current shortfall in terms of staff strength will not adversely affect the functioning of the aviation watchdog.
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Posts created
“It is pertinent to mention that in order to cater for the requirements of the civil aviation in the country, number of posts in DGCA have been created in the last couple of years. Therefore, the shortfall has not impacted the functioning of DGCA,” added the MoS.
He also said that the reasons behind the vacancies in DGCA include inadequate response to advertisements, non-joining of selected candidates, persons with insufficient service in the feeder cadre for promotion and insufficient response to deputation posts. He also said that the government is trying to recruit people through contractual hiring.
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Recruitment pursued vigorously
“Further, all methods of recruitment are pursued vigorously to ensure the timely and continuous availability of requisite manpower,” he said.
“To meet requirements in the interregnum due to vacancies arising from reasons like inadequate response to advertisements, nonjoining of selected candidates, persons with insufficient service in the feeder cadre for promotion, insufficient response to deputation posts, efforts are made to recruit persons through short-term contractual hiring,” added the MoS.
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Surveillance plans not impacted
The MoS further stated that the shortfall has not impacted the surveillance plans, which are undertaken regularly as a part of the Annual Surveillance Plan published on the website of DGCA.
“The creation of additional posts is a part of restructuring for the current and future expansion of civil aviation sector and the enhanced role of DGCA as a safety regulator,” he added.
The revelation comes at a time when the final investigation report into the deadly Air India crash is awaited, as the probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is yet to be released. Following the preliminary report, a section of the international media has published reports claiming that the fuel supply to the crashed Dreamliner was mistakenly cut off by one of the pilots.