Ahead of elections, state govt to wet lease a new helicopter for flying VVIPs

The Maharashtra state government plans to lease a new helicopter to fly VVIPs, including the governor, chief minister and deputy chief minister, due to an expected rise in demand during upcoming election preparations. This will be in addition to the government-owned Cessna citation 560XLS aircraft and Airbus H145 helicopter. The state civil aviation wing is set to invite bids for the wet lease of the new chopper, which is expected to be parked in the government's hangar and made available as and when required. The expected cost has not yet been determined.

Mumbai: In the wake of aggressive outreach programmes undertaken by the Shinde-Fadnavis combine amid the upcoming election preparations, the state government has decided to wet lease a new helicopter for flying VVIPs, including Governor, chief minister and deputy chief minister.

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This will be in addition to the government-owned VT-VDD Cessna citation 560XLS aircraft and Airbus H145 helicopter, which replaced Sikorsky S76 after it crashed in Nilanga in May 2017.

In a recent meeting, chief minister Eknath Shinde gave an in-principle nod to the proposal of the high-power committee headed by the chief secretary. The state civil aviation wing of the state government is expected to invite a bid for the wet lease of the chopper for the flying of the VVIPs. The expected expenditure is yet to be chalked out.

“The decision was taken keeping in mind the expected rise in the ferrying of the CM, DyCM, and other ministers in the wake of the aggressive outreach programme undertaken by the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Earlier, we used to have two choppers at our disposal, but one of them, a Sikorsky S76 crash landed in Nilanga in May 2017. The plan to buy another Sikorsky S76-D had to be rejected following differences with the firm. In 2019, an Airbus H145 chopper was purchased which was used for combating Maoist activities in Vidarbha. It is now being used for flying the VVIPs,” said an official from the chief minister’s office.

The state government hires choppers from the empanelled agencies whenever required for the VVIPs in addition to the existing fleet. “Sometimes, and in case of urgent need, the agencies too are not able to provide them. The choppers required are needed to be in accordance with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines for VVIP flying. In the wake of the ensuing elections, the demand is expected to go up. To avoid the shortage, we have decided to lease the chopper which will be parked at our hangar and will be available as and when required. The expected expenditure is not decided yet,” another officer said.

The decision was also taken after the state government’s own chopper developed a snag during VVIP flying recently. The state government spent about ₹1.5 crore a month on the wet lease of a Panwanhans chopper engaged for the security agencies combating the Maoist activities in Gadchiroli and Gondia. Maharashtra Airport Development Company will soon begin the process of bidding for the wet leasing of the chopper.