Ahmedabad: A CESSNA-340 aircraft, which has been stuck between Customs Commissionerate, Ahmedabad, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in New Delhi for more than three years, has finally got a green signal to head back home to Texas, US.
However, the aircraft, worth Rs 1.5 crore, now needs Rs 50 lakh for repairs and another Rs 1 crore for paying parking charges at the airport, besides nearly Rs 60 lakh in custom duty.
The aircraft entered the Indian airspace on August 21, 2008 and landed at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad for the mandatory customs clearance.
The light-weight aircraft was procured on behalf of Bangalore-based Agni Aviation Consultants (AAC) on a 45-day lease for cloud-seeding demonstration at Gadag in Karnataka.
Local Congress leader H K Patil, known for his several agricultural initiatives, had organised the demonstration.
After getting the Customs clearance at the Ahmedabad airport, the flight landed at Bangalore airport for refuelling but was grounded as it developed technical snags. The cloud-seeding demonstration did not take place.
21/03/12 Satish Jha/Express India
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