New Delhi: Astonished at the paltry fee of Rs 200 charged for registration of an aircraft, Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain has asked Director General of Civil Aviation to substantially hike the fee.

"Is it a joke! Either increase it or don't charge anything," a surprised Hussain told DGCA Satender Singh when he was informed that one time registration fee for any type of aircraft in the country was just Rs 200.

The minister was further stunned when told that DGCA was charging only Rs 100 for a test for licensing pilots and as if it was not enough, Singh told the minister that "we have decided to double the fee every five years".

These facts came to light when Hussain visited DGCA to know its operations. He told the authorities that they should seek the latest equipment to be at par with comparable authorities in other countries.

The issue of fees came up when Hussain wanted to know the revenue streams of DGCA and on being told about the continuance of the fees decided decades back, he asked Singh to examine if a minimum of Rs 20,000 could be charged for registration of a plane.

PTI