CM Siddaramaiah's official air travel bill over ₹47 crore, Karnataka assembly told

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has incurred air travel expenses exceeding ₹47 crore for government-related trips from May 2023 to November 2025.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s official air travel has cost the state exchequer over ₹47 crore between May 2023 and November 2025. The details were shared by the CM himself, who also oversees the finance department, in a written response to BJP MLC N Ravi Kumar in the Legislative Council.

Siddaramaiah's air travel cost includes 181 charter flights and helicopter rides. (PTI)

Siddaramaiah noted that the use of chartered flights, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters was strictly for government-related trips. He pointed out that Section 4(G) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act permits such arrangements for the governor, chief minister and chief justice, enabling the state to hire services from private charter operators for VIP movement, said a report by news agency PTI.

During this period, the chief minister travelled to Mysuru 22 times, spending over ₹5 crore specifically on the Bengaluru-Mysuru sector, a journey that typically takes around two and a half hours by road. His travels also included visits to major cities like New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai, the report stated.

The government booked a total of 181 charter flights and helicopter rides, 180 for the chief minister and one for Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, whose round trip to Mysuru cost ₹23.18 lakh.

Breakdown of expenses shows 48 bookings in 2023-24 costing ₹12.23 crore, another 84 in 2024-25 amounting to ₹20.88 crore, and 48 bookings from April to November 2025 totalling ₹14.03 crore.

Of all the bookings, GMP Air Charters handled 180, while GoJets Aviation managed one, the report noted.

(With inputs from PTI)