Uttarakhand HC seeks govt reply over chopper service pricing

The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government and three companies providing chopper services in a case pertaining to the tendering process for ferrying pilgrims to Kedarnath shrine

Updated on: May 16, 2018, 22:42:14 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government and three companies providing chopper services in a case pertaining to the tendering process for ferrying pilgrims to Kedarnath shrine, said Xitij Kaushik, counsel of the petitioner.

The Uttarakhand High Court has sought a reply from the state government on the pricing for ferrying pilgrims to the Kedarnath shrine. (Representative Picture/HT File Photo.)

Kaushik said that the court has sought a reply within four weeks on why pilgrims were being charged more than the maximum rate fixed by the state government for ferrying them to the Kedarnath shrine through a chopper service.

The reply was sought by a single bench of Justice Lokpal Singh.

On May 8, the court had ordered the counsel of the petitioner that three chopper service providers –Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd, Pawan Hans Ltd and Himalayan Heli Services Ltd be made respondents in the case. The three private companies were awarded contracts for providing chopper services from Gupkashi, Phata and Sirsi to Kedarnath shrine on April 27 this year.

Earlier during a hearing in the case, Justice Lokpal Singh had questioned that despite the state government fixing the maximum fare at ₹7,300 for the chopper service, a website was charging ₹9,990 for the same.

The state government has fixed ₹6,700 for Phata-Kedarnath, ₹7,300 for Gupt Kashi-Kedarnath helicopter service and ₹6,350 for Sersi-Kedarnath service.

Rajeev Dhar, the petitioner, who operates a helipad in Trijuginarayan in Sitapur area, had alleged anomalies in the bidding process and filed a writ petition in the court on April 16.

The petitioner had alleged that tendering process was allegedly moving towards creating a monopoly of the nine helipads owned by the chopper service companies that are presently operating from Sirsi, Guptkashi and Phata to Kedarnath shrine.

The petitioner had alleged that as many as six amendments were made in the original tender floated by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority for the chopper services on the three routes —Phata to Kedarnath, Sitapur Sirsi to Kedarnath and Guptkashi to Kedarnath.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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