The government on Thursday said it will appoint an independent regulator for the aviation sector by October this year.

"The regulator would be in place by October this year. The matter is already before the Parliament," Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry K N Srivastava told reporters.

The matter was presented to the Parliament and was later referred to a standing committee, Srivastava said, adding that it would be discussed during the second half of the Budget session when the recommendations of the steering committee would be available.

After clearance from the Parliament, it would take about three months to set up the regulator, he said.

The regulator would look into aspects like aeronautical charges, user development fee, passenger fee and others, Srivastava said on the sidelines of the 'Aerodrome India 2008' seminar in New Delhi.

The official also said that a Greenfield Airport Policy would be announced shortly that would seek to minimise the delay faced by developers of new airports in getting approvals.

The policy is being considered by the Cabinet and is expected to be announced this month, he said. Srivastava said the government will also soon come out with a Vision Document 2020 for the aviation sector.

At present, a Group of Ministers is looking into it. The document will contain plans for airport infrastructure, connectivity, security and other related issues.