EK Bharat Bhushan dismissed as the Chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation

The Civil Aviation Ministry of India sacked EK Bharat Bhushan, the head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on 10 July 2012. Prashant Sukul, joint secretary, the Ministry of Civil Aviation took over as the temporary head of DGCA.

The ministry’s move came as a big surprise as the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in its meeting held on 4 July 2012, had extended his tenure as the head of DGCA for another one year with effect from 1 December 2011. A 1979 batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Bharat Bhushan had assumed charge as DGCA  chief from Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi in December 2010. Post removal, he is set to go back to the Ministry of Civil Aviation as Additional Secretary.

During the 20-month period at the helm of the aviation regulatory body, Bharat Bhushan took variety of measures to ensure the safety of passengers. He also came hard on cash-strapped King Fisher Airlines and Air India forcing them to pay the pending salary of their employees to ensure the better functioning of the airline companies. Besides, he implemented various corrective measures to revitalize the ailing aviation industry of the country.