Cash crunched Punjab government has started a process to hire a fixed-wing aircraft for a period of one year. The government already has a chopper, which is used by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
The Department of Civil Aviation, Punjab government, has floated a tender stating it intends to empanel / hire from well-established and financially sound air charter service providers an assault Falcon 2000 fixed wing aircraft for a period of one year from the date of signing of an agreement.
Sources said that the government wanted an aircraft, which was faster and could seat eight to ten people. The chopper is slower as it requires refuelling to travel long distances. The government also has to share it with the Governor. It becomes risky to fly in the chopper during inclement weather.
“We have never ever hired an aircraft earlier. Former CM Amarinder Singh hired it only once or twice when Kartarpur corridor was opened for the first time. Since we are hiring the aircraft for the first time, we do not know how much budget would be required. Our budget is Rs 8 crore. When we used to hire Pawan Hans during the SAD-BJP regime, it would cross Rs 15 crore. We were happy when the government purchased its own chopper. We are able to sustain in Rs 8 crore. Now, the budget may go up. We will see. If the offer is higher than we will take it up with the Finance Department,” said a source.
The usage of aircrafts and chopper by the state government had created a huge controversy during the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime. Before the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had created a narrative that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal travelled by road. The Congress led by Captain Amarinder Singh then promised in its pre-poll manifesto that it would not use the chopper. Amarinder Singh used it sparingly but he did not travel much. Later, his successor Charanjit Singh Channi used the chopper extensively. He even flew once in the chopper from his residence to the reach Chandigarh Airport also.
The AAP has also stirred up rows with the state government’s chopper being used to fly to other states like election bound Himachal Pradesh for party activities.
The tender says that the aircraft should be able to seat up to a minimum of eight to ten passengers and will be required to be positioned and operate from the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL). The company and the aircraft should meet all the requirements as laid down for VIP flying as per the relevant civil aviation requirements (CAR) and other instructions issued by the DGCA, Government of India, from time to time.
The tender statement says the preference will be given to the service provider, who is a holder of Non Schedule Operator Permit (NSOP) holder with its own or leased fleet.
The air charter service provider may apply for empanelment by giving detailed background of the company, numbers and type of Falcon 2000 aircraft in its fleet. Documents demonstrating financial soundness including balance sheets for the last three years, list of clients served with testimonials, pre-conditions for providing the charter services, details for computation of hiring chargers including ground handling, etc / any other information which the service provider wishes to highlight should be enclosed. The last date of offers for empanelment is October 31.
