Put on hold: 25 of Thulasidas’s final 45 promotions

With the controversy over bulk promotions given to over 45 National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) employees heating up, officials have said they have started reviewing each promotion on a case-by-case basis and have put 25 deputy general manager (DGM) level promotions in abeyance. The company’s former CMD V Thulasidas is said to have signed promotion orders for over 45 people in the organisation on the last day of his term at NACIL.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jitender Bhargava, executive director of corporate communications said, “We have initiated the process of review and in some cases, where officiating charge has been given at the DGM level, the orders have been put on hold.” He said the remaining promotions at the general manager (GM) level and executive director level were also under scrutiny and would be appraised too.

In a circular issued earlier, NACIL had announced its decision to stay transfers and ‘assumption of charge in a senior position’ for a number of staffers. The stay orders were issued on the back of protests by several Air India officials who made representations to the new NACIL CMD Raghu Menon on the matter. They alleged that seniority and protocol were completely disregarded by the former CMD in granting the last-minute promotions, terming them ‘unethical.’ Employees had threatened to go to court if the issue was not looked into, forcing the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene and question the promotions.