Tata Sons completes registration of public charitable fund dedicated to victims of AI 171 crash

MUMBAI: Tata Sons on Friday formalised and completed the registration of a public charitable trust in Mumbai. The Trust will be called ‘The AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust’, dedicated to the victims of the unfortunate accident of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad.

The Trust will provide both immediate and continuing support to the dependents or next-of-kin of the deceased, to those who were injured, and to all others who are directly or collaterally affected by the accident.

The Trust will also provide aid and assistance for the alleviation of any trauma or distress suffered by the first responders, medical and disaster relief professionals, social workers and governmental staff who provided invaluable institutional support and service in the aftermath of the accident.

Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have together pledged to contribute Rs. 500 crores, with both committing Rs 250 crores each for the Trust’s philanthropic objects, which will include ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 crore for those deceased, medical treatment of those who suffered serious injuries, and support for rebuilding the BJ. Medical College Hostel infrastructure which was damaged in the accident.

The Trust will be managed and administered by a 5-member Board of Trustees. The initial two trustees appointed to the Board are S Padmanabhan, a former Tata veteran and Sidharth Sharma, Tata Sons’ General Counsel. Additional trustees will be appointed shortly.

The Trust will be funded and will commence its work in all earnestness after necessary registration with the Tax authorities and other operational formalities, currently underway.

Earlier, the Air Line Pilots’ Association (ALPA) India strongly appealed to media organisations to avoid speculative and unsubstantiated reporting surrounding the recent crash of Air India Flight AI 171, particularly reports involving sensitive issues such as mental health or unverified claims of crew negligence.

ALPA India urged the media to refrain from spreading unverified theories about the Air India Flight 171 crash, especially on sensitive matters.

ALPA India said, “We at ALPA India make a sincere and urgent appeal to all media outlets and journalists to refrain from spreading unverified and speculative theories regarding the tragic crash of AI 171, especially those involving sensitive matters such as mental health, suicide, or assigning blame to the flight crew without factual or investigative substantiation.”(ANI)