Home and Civil Aviation ministry lock horns over Bureau of Civil Aviation Security post

NEW DELHI: A tussle is brewing between the ministries of home and civil aviation over the post of chief of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), after the latter quietly scrapped a set of 25-year-old rules that stipulated that the post will be held by an officer of the Indian Police Services.

The post of commissioner, BCAS, has been vacant since the incumbent, IPS officer Hardev Singh Malli, retired in 2012.

Officials aware of the development said some IPS officers have pointed out to the Home Minister's Office that the aviation ministry issued a notification on November 18 rescinding an earlier notification of Commissioner of Security, Civil Aviation (Recruitment Rules) 1989. IPS officers have pointed out that this paves the way for the aviation ministry to fill up the post under the Central Staffing Scheme, which opens the door for an IAS officer to occupy the post.

The rules since 1989 said the post will only be filled on deputation by IPS officers of the rank of director general. The three subordinate posts at BCAS, that of a joint commissioner and two additional commissioners, are also manned by IPS officers.

The home ministry wants the subject of civil aviation security to come under it, given that the sector is deemed vulnerable from internal security point of view. It cites the example of the US where the Transportation Security Agency was shifted under the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 attacks.