The proposed Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is to replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is to not only pay market linked salaries to its employees but is also likely to follow a hire and fire policy, senior Government officials said late Saturday.

“The CAA will be an autonomous body. It will have a different pay scale from what is followed in the Government. The Government hopes to introduce a Bill for setting up the CAA in the forthcoming Parliament session. At the moment inter-Ministerial consultations are going on for setting up of the CAA,” Secretary Civil Aviation K.N. Srivastava said.

Officials were, however, tight lipped on whether a professional, or a serving or retired bureaucrat would head the new organisation.

The proposed new body will also enjoy administrative and financial freedom to meet its functional requirements for an effective safety and oversight system, something that the existing DGCA lacks. In addition, it will also have the powers of economic and environmental regulations and consumer protection.

The recruitment for the CAA will also be different from the DGCA and the Union Public Services Commission will not have a role to play in the recruitment process of the new body.

Currently the UPSC recruits personnel for DGCA. Former President Pratibha Patil had made a reference to the setting up of the CAA in her speech to Parliament earlier this year.

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