Modern bureaucracies, it is said, are formed on the basis of merit and technical competence. Not so in Nepal. A case in point is an attempt made recently by the government to sack Sanjiv Gautam, the director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan), the aviation sector regulator, for no concrete reason.

Gautam has played a crucial role in raising Nepal’s aviation safety standards. This effort has prompted the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the global civil aviation watchdog, to remove the tag of ‘significant safety concerns’ put on Nepal’s aviation sector for failure to raise air safety standards.

Removal of this tag is considered as the first step towards removing the country from the blacklist of the European Union, which has barred all Nepali carriers from flying in its skies because of poor safety records.

 The purpose here, however, is not to heap praise on a particular individual called Sanjiv Gautam. If some other person had done what Gautam did, then that individual would have been worthy of praise as well.

In other words, admiration is being expressed towards Gautam because of his calibre, potential and expertise.

 So, if the government intends to sack Gautam, it should be able to bring in someone like him or someone better than him.

But that is unlikely to happen because the intention of people who are pushing hard to fire him is to serve their petty interest rather than strengthen the aviation sector regulatory body.

 It is said the decision to sack Gautam was taken by a meeting held under the civil aviation minister. It is also said the meeting was attended by a tycoon, who is considered as the power broker in the aviation sector.

When such a businessman is involved in the government’s decision-making process, one can easily guess the result, and the type of person he intends to bring in. This is quite unfortunate for the aviation sector of a country like Nepal, with a difficult terrain  where simple mistakes can increase the number of air accidents.

 Interestingly, the Caan has never seen its director generals completing their tenure in the office since its formation in 1998.

These frequent turnarounds of top level staff at the Caan have time and again been blamed for Nepal’s poor air safety standards.

 It is now time that the government eliminated the practice of making patronage appointments at the Caan.

People appointed through this process are not accountable to anyone but their masters, and are barely interested in introducing reforms at their workplaces. Such hiring will only cause Nepal’s air safety standards to deteriorate, making air travel even riskier.