SHILLONG, 28 Dec: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said that his government plans to hire a twin-engine chopper exclusively for the movements of VIPs.
The VIP chopper service is valid initially for three months.
“It is necessary sometimes. It saves a lot of time. Movements need to be done by senior leaders. Keeping fiscal constraints (the state is facing), we are not procuring a chopper but will be hiring on an hourly usage basis,” the chief minister said in a statement.
He said, “We are giving out a tender for a short-term lease and we pay on an hourly basis. That is the most efficient way and will not incur much financial burden.”
The chief minister’s statement came in the wake of reports that the state government plans to procure a chopper for VIP movements.
He said that the state government has come up with a tender to hire chopper services and not for procuring a chopper because that in itself is very expensive.
He said also that the normal sorties for the Shillong-Tura-Guwahati route used by visitors get disturbed when a VVIP takes the choppers.
The transport department had on 22 December floated an advertisement, requesting a proposal for wet lease of one twin-engine helicopter with a seating capacity of 4-5 passengers.
The last date for submission for the proposal is 2 January, 2024, while the tender will be opened on 16 January, following which the winning bidder will have to make the chopper available within five days for the government’s usage. (PTI)