The helicopter hired for the state’s official purposes arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday amid severe financial crisis that the state is facing at present.
It has been claimed that the helicopter is hired for police activities including Maoist monitoring and operations in disaster areas. However, it is reported that the helicopter is hired for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s travel purposes.
The chopper on Wednesday underwent a series of safety checks, with the inspection conducted on the grounds of the Special Armed Police (SAP) camp.
The state government reportedly signed an agreement with the private company Chipson Aviation under which the helicopter would be rented for Rs 80 lakh per month.
The rent of the helicopter for 25 hours of flight will be Rs 80 lakh per month. After 25 hours of use of the helicopter requires an additional Rs 90,000 per hour payment from the government.
The decision to acquire a helicopter had previously been put on hold amid widespread criticism, primarily due to the financial crisis in Kerala. Kerala is experiencing its worst financial crisis at present.
The government’s decision to hire the helicopter at a time when the state is facing acute economic difficulties has drawn harsh criticism from the Opposition.
Earlier, Opposition leader V D Satheesan highlighted the Chief Minister’s hypocrisy by claiming that while the latter argues for cost-cutting, he himself is incurring significant expenses.