‘Ministry didn’t seek secy transfer’

Just three weeks after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet ( ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi overruled the civil aviation ministry’s recommendation for a two- year extension of tenure for Air India chairman and managing director ( CMD) Rohit Nandan, the government has transferred civil aviation secretary Ashok Lavasa to the environment ministry despite the fact that its own civil

“The aviation ministry had not made any recommendation on the matter. But the ministry has no objections on the transfer. The new secretary is also a good officer,” top ministry sources said. Mr Lavasa’s new appointment was among the appointments of Union secretaries approved on Friday by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet ( ACC) headed by Prime Minister Modi. Just three weeks ago, the government had granted only a threemonth extension to Air India CMD Rohit Nandan and had ordered that the process for appointment of a new CMD be started immediately.

The Modi government had made it clear that they wanted another person to head national carrier Air India. Mr. Nandan, a senior IAS officer of the 1982 batch belonging to the UP cadre, was appointed CMD in August, 2011, for a threeyear tenure by the then UPA- 2 government. “The Prime Minister has the last word on such senior appointments.”