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Haryana govt spends ₹80,000 per day on CM Khattar’s air travel
The figure excluded the cost incurred on Khattar’s foreign visits.
The BJP government in Haryana has splurged about ₹80,000 per day on chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s inland air travel since October 2014 when he took over the reins of the state.
A right to information (RTI) query filed by Gurugram-based activist Harinder Dhingra has revealed that around ₹10 crore were spent on fuel cost of the state-owned helicopter used by the chief minister and the rent paid by the state government on chartered air services hired for him during the past 45 months.
The figure excluded the cost incurred on Khattar’s foreign visits.
A first-time MLA who became chief minister due to his close association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Khattar had tried to set a lofty example in austerity early in his tenure by travelling in trains, buses, metro rail and commercial flights.
However, frequent travel requirements, particularly to the national capital and back, and paucity of time, gradually brought about a change in the approach of the chief minister.
The chief minister and top state officials also realised that it would also be prudent to invest in a new aircraft rather than depend on chartered air services which cost a lot, officials said.
Chartered air services cost ₹9 crore
As per the RTI information provided by the civil aviation department, the expenditure incurred on account of fuel of the state helicopter between October 2014 and July 2018 was ₹10.5 crore.
The amount spent on chartered air services during the same period was ₹9.03 crore.
The chartered aircraft/helicopter was hired for Khattar on 69 occasions in 2015, 24 times in 2016 and 15 in 2017.
Most of the air travel made by the CM were round trips from Delhi to Chandigarh, costing around ₹2.5 lakh per trip, documents revealed.
Despite HT’s repeated attempts, Rajiv Jain, media advisor to the CM, and state aviation minister Rao Narbir Singh could not be contacted for their comments.
State aviation officials also did not respond to phone calls or text messages.
New state aircraft by November
A luxurious state-owned aircraft will also be at the disposal of the chief minister by November. The 10-seater Beechcraft King Air 250 will cost the state government $ 60.07 lakh (around ₹42 crore).
The state government already has a twin-engine helicopter that was purchased during the previous Congress regime at a cost of 5.5 million euros ( ₹33 crore) in 2009. A Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft, also bought during the Congress rule, had crashed at the Chandigarh airport soon after taking off in 2014.
The then governor, Jagannath Pahadia, his wife and other officials on board had a miraculous escape. The proposal to purchase a new aircraft was mooted during the Congress regime after the crash.
