Airports Authority of India Act, 1994- Chapter II- The Airports Authority Of India

Chapter II

THE AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

3. Constitution and incorporation of the Authority.

3. Constitution and incorporation of the Authority.—(1) With effect from the appointed day, the Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute an authority to be called the Airports Authority of India.

(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

(3) The Authority shall consist of—

(a) a Chairperson to be appointed by the Central Government;

(b) the Director General of Civil Aviation, or an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation, to be appointed by the Central Government, ex officio;

(c) not less than eight and not more than fourteen members to be appointed by the Central Government.

(4) The Chairperson shall be a whole-time member and other members referred to in clause (c) of sub-section (3) may be appointed as whole-time or part-time members as the Central Government may think fit.

(5) The Chairperson and the members referred to in clause (c) of sub-section (3) shall be chosen from among persons who have special knowledge and experience in air transport or any other transport services, industry, commercial or financial matters or administration and from among persons who are capable of representing organisations of workers and consumers.

4. Disqualification for office of member.

4. Disqualification for office of member.—A person shall be disqualified for being appointed as a member if he—

(a) has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence, which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude; or

(b) is an undischarged insolvent; or

(c) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or

(d) has been removed or dismissed from the service of the Government or a body corporate owned or controlled by the Government; or

(e) has in the opinion of the Central Government such financial or other interest in the Authority as is likely to affect prejudicially the discharge by him of his functions as a member.

5. Term of office and conditions of service of members.

5. Term of office and conditions of service of members.—(1) Subject to the provisions of Section 6,—

(i) every whole-time member (other than the ex officio member) shall hold office for a period of five years from the date on which he assumes office or till he attains the age of sixty years, whichever is earlier, and

(ii) every part-time member (other than the ex officio member) shall hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he assumes office:

Provided that the Central Government may—

(a) terminate the appointment of any whole-time member, who is not a servant of the Government, after giving him notice for a period of not less than three months or, in lieu thereof, on payment of an amount equal to his salary and allowances, if any, for a period of three months;

(b) terminate the appointment of any part-time member who is not a servant of the Government after giving him notice for such period as may be prescribed; and

(c) terminate at any time the appointment of any member who is a servant of the Government.

(2) The other conditions of service of the members shall be such as may be prescribed.

(3) Any member may resign his office by giving notice in writing for such period as may be prescribed, to the Central Government and, on such resignation being notified in the Official Gazette by that Government, such member shall be deemed to have vacated his office.

6. Vacation of office of member.

6. Vacation of office of member.—The Central Government shall remove a member if he—

(a) becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in Section 4:

Provided that no member shall be removed on the ground that he has become subject to the disqualification mentioned in clause (e) of that section, unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter; or

(b) refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting; or

(c) is, without obtaining leave of absence from the Authority, absent from three consecutive meetings of the Authority, or

(d) in the opinion of the Central Government has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office detrimental to the public interest:

Provided that no member shall be removed under this clause unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter.

7. Eligibility of member for re-appointment.

7. Eligibility of member for re-appointment.—Any person ceasing to be a member shall, unless disqualified under Section 4, be eligible for re-appointment.

8. Meetings.

8. Meetings.—(1) The Authority shall meet at such times and places, and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of the business at its meetings (including the quorum at such meetings) as may be provided by regulations.

(2) The Chairperson, or, if for any reason he is unable to attend any meeting of the Authority, any other member chosen by the members present at the meeting shall preside at the meeting.

(3) All questions which come up before any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting, and, in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson, or in his absence, the person presiding, shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.

9. Vacancies, etc., not to invalidate proceedings of the Authority.

9. Vacancies, etc., not to invalidate proceedings of the Authority.—No act or proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid merely by reason of—

(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority; or

(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Authority; or

(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Authority not affecting the merits of the case.

10. Appointment of officers and other employees of the Authority.

10. Appointment of officers and other employees of the Authority.—(1) For the purpose of enabling it efficiently to discharge its functions under this Act, the Authority shall, subject to the provisions of Section 18 and to such rules as may be made in this behalf, appoint (whether on deputation or otherwise) such number of officers and other employees as it may consider necessary:

Provided that the appointment of such category of officers, as may be specified after consultation with the Chairperson in such rules, shall be subject to the approval of the Central Government.

(2) Subject to the provisions of Section 18, every officer or other employee appointed by the Authority shall be subject to such conditions of service and shall be entitled to such remuneration as may be determined by regulations.

11. Authority to act on business principles.

11. Authority to act on business principles.—In the discharge of its functions under this Act, the Authority shall act, so far as may be, on business principles.

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