Ranchi: The state government on Monday introduced a new system to ensure round-the-clock helicopter availability for VIPs and its high-ranked government officials.
In its first meeting after Navratri, the Raghubar Das-led-cabinet trashed the previous system of taking chartered flights and entered into a lease agreement with a civil aviation company. Under the one-year agreement, the government will pay the firm Rs 76 lakh for at least 25 flying hours every month.
According to the civil aviations department, the new arrangement will be made operational from the first week of November. Captain Surendra Prasad Sinha, director of the department said the new measure will be cost-efficient. "In a chartered system, the company used to charge anywhere between Rs 1.25 lakh- Rs 1.75 lakh per hour. This will ensure the chopper is always available during emergency," Sinha said. Once the fixed flying hours are over, the company will be paid at Rs 75,000 an hour. The new arrangement also mandates the aviation company to provide a substitute if the chopper is grounded for maintenance.
27/10/15 Dhritiman Ray/Times of India
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In its first meeting after Navratri, the Raghubar Das-led-cabinet trashed the previous system of taking chartered flights and entered into a lease agreement with a civil aviation company. Under the one-year agreement, the government will pay the firm Rs 76 lakh for at least 25 flying hours every month.
According to the civil aviations department, the new arrangement will be made operational from the first week of November. Captain Surendra Prasad Sinha, director of the department said the new measure will be cost-efficient. "In a chartered system, the company used to charge anywhere between Rs 1.25 lakh- Rs 1.75 lakh per hour. This will ensure the chopper is always available during emergency," Sinha said. Once the fixed flying hours are over, the company will be paid at Rs 75,000 an hour. The new arrangement also mandates the aviation company to provide a substitute if the chopper is grounded for maintenance.
27/10/15 Dhritiman Ray/Times of India
