The minister stated that between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009, the chief minister travelled by helicopter 60 times, by plane 15 times and by chartered plane 29 times.
Chief minister Narendra Modi may probably turn out to be the top frequent flyer in the country. His frequent flying has cost the state exchequer Rs3.75 crore in last 14 months — between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009 — which means that every month his air travel expenses reached a figure of over Rs26.82 lakh.
This fact came to light in reply to a starred question asked by Khumansinh Chauhan, the Congress MLA from Savali, on the first day of the assembly session here on Monday. Chauhan had asked the state civil aviation minister about the expense incurred by the state government on the chief minister’s flying.
The minister stated that between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009, the chief minister travelled by helicopter 60 times, by plane 15 times and by chartered plane 29 times. For this, the government had to pay about Rs19.58 lakh for helicopters, Rs6.41 lakh for planes and Rs3.49 crore for chartered planes.
According to sources, these figures are only for official travel of the chief minister at government expense. “On many occasions, he has used private chartered planes of various corporate houses, the expenses of which are not included in this,’’ they said.
The state government is also planning to buy an 8-10 seater new aircraft for long trips of the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues. According to highly-placed sources in the state government, this will add to the state government’s fleet of one aircraft and one helicopter.
Sources had earlier said, “The present aircraft has become old and the speed of the aircraft is also very low; this creates problems in covering long distances. The requirement of flying within the state, country and abroad has increased; so, the government felt the need of buying a new aircraft. The government has, in principle, decided to buy a new aircraft. However, formal approval of the chief minister and the cabinet is yet to be taken.
“The process of finalising specifications for the new aircraft is going on, but it has been decided that the aircraft should be of 8 to 10 seats, have two high-speed engines and be equipped with all latest safety and sophisticated facilities. Once specifications are finalised, the government will invite global tenders for purchase. The aircraft will cost anywhere between Rs80 and Rs200 crore.”
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