K. Surendran deems the decision to hire a helicopter for the CM amidst Kerala’s serious economic crisis to be an extravagant affair.

Thiruvananthapuram: K. Surendran, the BJP State President, expressed his dissatisfaction with the choice to hire a helicopter for the Chief Minister’s travel and the deployment of police resources, especially given the severe economic crisis that Kerala is currently grappling with. He deemed this decision both extravagant and a burden on the public. According to him, it’s inappropriate for the Chief Minister to spend crores of rupees on helicopter travel while the people are facing hardships, to the extent that celebrating Onam has become a challenge.

The agreement requires an expense of 80 lakh rupees for 25 hours of monthly flight time, with an additional 90,000 rupees per extra hour of flying. This decision to lease a helicopter comes at a moment when, even cheques cannot be cashed at the treasury. It’s noteworthy that in a previous instance, Pinarayi Vijayan had shelled out around 22 crores for his helicopter travel.

Kerala is currently grappling with an economic crisis comparable to the situations in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. K. Surendran remarked that it is particularly concerning that the government is proceeding with such greed and arrogance during this time.

Green signal was given for the Chief Minister’s helicopter rental today, with a private company offering their services at a monthly rate of 80 lakh rupees. The helicopter is anticipated to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram within a fortnight.

The government’s recommendation for the helicopter has received approval from the Finance Department. The contract for the helicopter services has been awarded to Chipson Airways. The Ministry of Home Affairs has finalized the arrangement in line with the resolutions of the March cabinet meeting. Although the order states that the helicopter will be utilized for Maoist surveillance and disaster area visits, there are allegations that the decision was primarily driven by the Chief Minister’s convenience in travel.

Criticism has been mounting ever since the finance department granted permission to lease the helicopter for Rs 80 lakhs. Despite the state grappling with a severe financial crisis, there is widespread censure directed at the government’s perceived extravagance.