Your chopper ride plans will have to wait

The state government's plan to set up heliports across the city has hit a major road block. Despite the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) submitting all necessary plans, the Union defence ministry and environment-forest ministry have not given the project a nod.

The MMRDA was asked by officials of the urban development department (UDD) to plan the project and accordingly a survey was carried out by the authority. They shortlisted two location — one in Nariman Point and the other in Navi Mumbai sector 30 — where the heliports could be set up. According to a senior MMRDA official, they have made presentations before the concerned authorities as per norms of the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA).

"The state environment department has already cleared the project. We have also given detailed plans to the defence and environment- forest ministries. But, they are delaying the permissions citing various reasons," said the official.

According to sources in the state government, the guidelines for running chopper services are relatively liberal. "But, Indian Navy officials feel that running a heliport near their base in INS Kunjali in Colaba can be a security issue. We have given them two options.

The first one is that only ex-defence pilots will operate the choppers as they will have perfect knowledge of how to avoid aerial view of the naval base. The second option is to decide a route that will avoid view of INS Kunjali. Surprisingly, the defence officials seem to be ignorant about both options," said an UDD official.

If the state government's claims are to be believed, then Mumbai has a huge demand for passenger helicopter services. "During the Indian Premier League (IPL) final held in Navi Mumbai, Pawan Hans had to operate as many as 25 to 30 services for VIP spectators. To avoid such situation in case of medical emergencies, chopper services are reliable and cheap since the DGCA charges only Rs250 per trip per passenger for helicopter landing charges," added the official. "The state government wants to chopper services as soon as possible, but the defence authorities are delaying the project."