Suspended AAI officer attends Chennai meet

Chennai: Though he was supposedly suspended by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh for ‘irregularities in awarding contracts’, a top official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is believed to have attended a pre-bid meeting at the airport here on Friday, drawing flak from unionists in the airport. According to well-placed sources in AAI, L L Krishnan, Executive Director (Commercial), flew into the city and attended a pre-bid meeting held to decide the structure of the tender for setting up duty-free shops in the new international terminal.

Krishnan was one of the six officials named in the official note sent by Ajit Singh on September 17, to be suspended for ‘favouring a particular company in awarding contracts for ground-handling services’ at certain airports. Significantly, Krishnan’s predecessor, R V Narayanan, was implicated in the minister’s order — on charges of conspiracy and corruption.

“He attended the meeting and gave us suggestions on how to go about issuing the tender in a month,” said an AAI official. An office bearer of the AAI Employees Union said: “This is unacceptable. After so much has been said about a CBI probe against Krishnan, how can he come here and say that the orders haven’t been issued yet?”

L L Krishnan, Executive Director (Commercial), flew into the city and attended a pre-bid meeting.

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