Speedboats guzzle fuel worth Rs60 crore, Maharashtra grapples for funds

Beefing up coastal security was the need of the hour following the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. Following the attack, the state and central governments released speedboats to increase surveillance along the coast. The escalating operational cost of the boats, however, has the state government worried. 

An official from the state home department said the fuel cost of the speedboats is nearly a third of what it spends on all the 6,000 patrolling vehicles of the department. The fuel cost for operating the speedboats is Rs60 crore per annum (over Rs20,000 per day per boat). Each boat consumes nearly 6,000 litres of petrol every month.

The state home department ordered the diversion of funds meant for patrolling its vehicles after it was asked to release Rs15 crore as fuel expenditure of the 47 speed boats for three months.
“Since there was no provision made for fuel for the boats, the department will have to divert funds meant for petrol of its patrolling vehicles,” a home department official said.   

“The expenditure of the speed boats - most of which have an engine with a horse power of 300 watts - is so huge that they are proving to be a white elephant for the department which has Rs500  crore as its annual budget for capital expenditure,” the official said.

The budgetary allocation for petrol for the speed boats will be done only after a supplementary demand is submitted in the winter session. Funds will be released by January 2012.

A top police official from the state headquarters said the fuel expenditure is inevitable as the state and central governments are hell-bent on tightening coastal security. “We cannot compromise on coastal security come what may,” he said. The official said that the fuel expenditure for the speed boats will be entirely borne by the state government.

The home department has also appointed seven people, including sailors and technical experts, for the maintenance of the speed boats apart from the police personnel on duty. The total cost of recruitment is nearly Rs5 crore per year. 

The central government released 28 speed boats after 26/11 while the state government ordered 29 of them for coastal surveillance. The state is yet to procure 10 of its boats - they are expected to be delivered by 2012.