KATHMANDU, JULY 6
In a clearly visible widening rift between the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) and the civil aviation regulatory body of the country, the former has yet again sought clarification from the Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Pradeep Adhikari after he did not respond to the ministry's previous letter within the given deadline of seven days.
On June 27, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati had sent a nine-point letter to the CAAN DG Adhikari. In another letter dated today, the ministry has sought a clear response as to why the CAAN DG has not yet provided the clarifications sought earlier and has given him three more days to respond.
While DG Adhikari has not given any response to the questions put forth by the ministry, he had taken to Twitter on July 3 to tweet that 'CAAN is an autonomous authority'.
In a meeting held on Wednesday, the ministry has decided to proceed according to the legal procedures if CAAN DG Adhikari does not respond to the clarifications sought by the ministry within the extended deadline.
The earlier nine questions to the CAAN DG included seeking explanation over his contradictory statements regarding the government's decision to split CAAN into two separate bodies as announced in the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year on May 29, among other issues.
Similarly, the ministry had expressed concerns about the accident of two domestic aircraft and three helicopters during Adhikari's tenure as director general of CAAN and raised questions on the effectiveness of duties and responsibilities undertaken by him.
Moreover, stating that the authority was facing challenges in operating regular flights at the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa and the Pokhara Regional International Airport, which were constructed by taking foreign loans, Minister Kirati had questioned CAAN DG Adhikari's performance as the authority responsible for the operation of the airports.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 7, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
