January 16, 2007	Tuesday	Zilhaj 25, 1427

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ISLAMABAD Jan 15: The Civil Aviation Authority board of directors is holding a crucial meeting on Tuesday to approve restructuring of the authority into three units, sources told Dawn on Sunday.

Under the plan, five additional director-generals will work under the director-general and three units namely CA regulatory, Air Traffic Control and Airports services will be created.

The plan has been drawn up on the lines of Lums Lahore report which was assigned the contract at a cost of Rs3.8 million.

Earlier, the CAA had hired the services of Dubai-based Mackenzie, but due to various reasons the contract worth $5 million was left half way before its report completion with half the amount having been paid.

The CAA had assigned the job of restructuring the authority in accordance with the Lums report which briefed the secretary defence in Karachi on various aspects of the division plan.

Sources said a majority of the CAA employees was against the plan which involved a number of inductions on high positions on huge salary packages from outside the authority superseding its own officials.

The issue was raised in the Senate last year by leader of opposition Raza Rabbani and the government had denied that any such plan was on the cards.

The CAA has hired services of a consultant at a Rs150,000 package and is about to bring in chiefs of finance and a commercial officer from outside the authority on lucrative packages, sources said.

Interestingly, the CAA director-general who comes from oil industry (Shell) has offered consultancy for the authority’s safety and security from his own mother company.

CAA sources regretted the step as uncalled for when the authority was earning handsome profits and was not seeking any monitory help from the government.

Under the new scheme while the director-general and the DDG have been proposed to be placed in M-I and M-II salary packages the AADGs will be placed in grade 13 and the CEO in grade 12 of the restructured salary package which has been extended to 1 to 13 from earlier 1 to 11 grades.

Besides, it is proposed that the DG will get house rent at rate of Rs75,000 per month while the DDG is to get Rs50,000 as house rent, sources said.

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