Ranchi, Sept. 6: Speaker C. P Singh has asked the state government to identify senior officials responsible for the plight of 26 youths from backward communities, who were driven out of a Bilaspur-based pilot school where they were undergoing training last year.

The Speaker, who intervened in a discussion in the Assembly prompted by a question raised by Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey today, also directed the government to take action against the erring officials within three days.

Replying to Tirkey, deputy chief minister Hemant Soren said the government had written to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI), seeking a nod to open a pilot training centre in the state civil aviation department.

To bolster his case, he said the government owned a couple of gliders that could be used for training in addition to the hangar at Ranchi airport.

“We are waiting for a nod from DGCA and AAI in this regard,” Soren said even as the government had, in a written reply, said it was trying to explore whether their training could be completed at Garg Aviation, Lucknow.

In his submission, Tirkey pointed out that some of the aspiring pilots, all of whom belonged to SC/ST and OBC categories, would soon cross the qualifying age for obtaining a commercial pilot’s licence while the government was taking its own sweet time to decide on the matter.

This prompted Singh to set the deadline. “The government shall take action against the responsible officials in the episode within three days.”

JVM legislature party leader Pradeep Yadav sought to know if the government’s facilities at Birsa Munda Airport fulfilled the minimum criteria for setting up a licensed pilot training institute.

The state welfare department had zeroed in on Sai Flytech Aviation Academy to train wannabe pilots under a special scheme in 2010. The candidates, mostly from poor families, were sent to Bilaspur on November 14, 2010. They had to return in November 2011.

DGP removal sought

Opposition members, led by Hazaribagh Congress MLA Saurabh Narayan Singh, were backed up by a few from the ruling coalition, including BJP’s Umashankar Akela, to demand the immediate removal of DGP G.S Rath over allegations of his involvement in fraudulent police purchases.

The government has already ordered a vigilance inquiry after allegations of kickbacks surfaced in the purchase of inflatable lights for Naxalite operations.