Air India employees at airline colonies in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar & Mumbai’s Kalina asked to vacate by July 26

NEW DELHI: The close to 2,000 employees living in Air India’s staff colonies — the uber posh Vasant Vihar in Delhi and Kalina in Mumbai — will have to leave their official accommodation latest by July 26, 2022, or face staff fines and also lose there retirement benefits.
The employees were supposed to vacate the same within six months of AI divestment that’s completed earlier this year.
A special purpose vehicle, AI Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), that has been created to take over AI’s non aviation assets and gradually monetise them to pay off the airline’s debt retained by the government has asked the airline to remind the employees about the looming deadline.
“…We are now in receipt of an e-mail dated May 18, 2022, from AIAHL advising us to send reminder to residents to vacate company accommodation latest by July 26,2022, in line with the decision of (AI divestment GoM) , which has already been conveyed to them…. you were requested to ensure that an undertaking (to the effect from) occupants of colony accommodation,” AI GM (industrial relations) Meenakshi Kashyap last week says in a note titled “vacation of company accommodation bv AI employees post disinvestment). AI employees overstaying in the airline’s colonies beyond the permitted period post divestment in Delhi and Mumbai will be slapped with penalties of Rs 10 and Rs 15 lakh, respectively, and also charged double the market rent for unauthorised period of stay. This amount will be recovered from their dues. The aviation ministry had last September informed the airline management about the “mechanism for prompt vacation of accommodation at AI colonies.”
The GoM on AI divestment had on August 9, 2021, decided that AI employees can continue staying at the company’s residential properties post divestment “for a period of six months or till the property is monetised, whichever is earlier. Appropriate binding legal… financial disincentives should be formulated to enable prompt vacation…”
“Any unauthorised occupation of accommodation in contravention of period permissible would attract penal rent equivalent to the sum of normal occupancy charges and double the market rent for the period of unauthorised occupancy. In addition to that, such employee would be liable to pay damage charges of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh for accommodation at Delhi and Mumbai respectively. The penalty would be recovered from arrear and any other financial benefit accruable to such employee,” an aviation ministry communique to AI issued before divestment had said.
Those who fail to vacate AI colonies within the timelines will have their retirement/service benefits or any financial benefit accrued put on hold. The same will be released only after peaceful vacation of the accommodation. “Any liable charges, penal rent or damage charges would be recovered” from them.