CHANDIGARH: In a complete contrast to his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is flying “low”, averaging just one hour each day. In one year of him coming to power in Punjab, the government has spent just Rs 1 crore. When the Badals were in power for 10 years till 2017, they cost the state exchequer Rs 100 crore, averaging two hours a day in the air.
From 2007 to 2012, the bill was Rs 65 crore for hiring planes and helicopters for them. From 2012, the Badals’ second tenure till last year, the state government coughed up Rs 44 crore on their flights. Most of the flights had on board the CM, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majitha, brother of Harsimrat; Food Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Parkash’s son-in-law, and other dignitaries.
An official said that during the SAD-BJP government, the state-owned helicopter flew 450 hours per year, or 40 hours per month. Hired helicopters and planes flew about 30 hours per month, or two hours per day.
“In the last year, Capt Amarinder has used the state helicopter thrice a week. It is mostly used by Governor V P Singh Badnore to fly within the state and to Rajasthan,” the official added.
Ever since it came to power in the state in March 2017, the Congress government hired helicopters from private firms six times at a cost of Rs 62.88 lakh, besides using the state-owned helicopter. When former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Punjab on December 24, 2017, a private helicopter was hired for him for Rs 14.64 lakh.
Source said from March 15 to December 25 last year, the helicopter has flown 225 times. As per rules, the helicopter can be used by the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Cabinet ministers and others with permission from the Chief Minister. Besides Amarinder, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Minister for State (Independent charge) of PWD & B&R Minister Razina Sultana and Punjab Congress President and MP Sunil Jakhar have also used the state helicopter.
Sticking to its manifesto promise during the Assembly elections last year, the Congress had stated, “The use of helicopter for travelling by the Chief Minister and the ministers will be forbidden except in the case of emergency or calamity.”
Rs 1 crore
spent by Amarinder government on flying in one year
Rs 100 crore
spent by Badal government on flying in 10 years