Has Tata Sons Established a Rs 500 Crore Trust for Air India Ahmedabad Crash Victims?

Mumbai, July 18 (NationPress) Tata Sons has officially established a public charitable Trust with a substantial fund of Rs 500 crore in Mumbai, aimed at supporting the victims of the devastating Air India flight AI-171 accident in Ahmedabad on June 12, where 260 lives were lost.

The Trust, named ‘The AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust’, will deliver both immediate and ongoing assistance to the families of the deceased, individuals who were injured, and others significantly impacted by the tragedy.

According to the company, “The Trust will also extend help to alleviate any trauma or distress experienced by first responders, medical personnel, disaster relief teams, social workers, and governmental staff who provided essential support and services in the aftermath of the incident.”

Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have jointly committed to donate Rs 500 crore (with each contributing Rs 250 crore) toward the Trust’s philanthropic goals, which will encompass a Rs 1 crore ex-gratia payment for each individual who lost their life, medical expenses for those who sustained serious injuries, and support for restoring the damaged infrastructure of the B.J. Medical College Hostel.

The Trust will be governed by a five-member Board of Trustees. The initial trustees appointed include S. Padmanabhan, a former veteran of Tata, and Sidharth Sharma, General Counsel for Tata Sons.

“More trustees will be appointed soon. The Trust will initiate its operations diligently once the necessary registration with tax authorities and other operational processes are finalized,” stated Tata Sons.

In a related note, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has expressed concerns in a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry about the preliminary report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) regarding the Air India crash, arguing that it has not adequately considered two credible technical scenarios that could have led to the automatic shutdown of both engines of the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The organization has called on the Civil Aviation Ministry to involve additional subject matter experts in the investigation.

Furthermore, the pilots' group ALPA-India commented that the crew aboard the AI-171 flight made every conceivable effort to safeguard the passengers and should be honored rather than face unfounded criticism.

“The AI-171 crew did everything possible – until their last breath – to ensure the safety of passengers and minimize harm on the ground. They deserve respect, not baseless character judgments,” ALPA India remarked in a statement.