Flood of copters, a waste

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Hyderabad: The state government has wasted a lot of money thanks to politics over airlifting passengers during calamities.
With Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu making a big issue out of airlifting stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand during the recent floods, the government had pressed into service more helicopters than were required in the last one week for rescue operations in flood-hit areas in the state.
Official sources told this newspaper that requisition for helicopters, both from military and private agencies, was not need-based as was evident from the government wanting to send a second helicopter to Rajahmundry.
Andra Pradesh paid Rs 75 lakh for special aircrafts
East Godavari district collector Neetu Prasad shot down the proposal of sending a second helicopter to undertake relief works in Rajahmundry.
“The state had already kept one helicopter in Rajahmundry and the situation is manageable. Hiring a second one is a waste of funds,” said a senior revenue official in East Godavari.
Similarly, the government kept three Air Force helicopters in Karimnagar though two were sufficient as per feedback from district officials.
The administration bosses, however, do not want to take chances fearing that the Opposition may accuse the government of not learning lessons from Uttarakhand.
Inquiries have also revealed that the special aircraft hired by both the state government as well as TD operated with less than half the capacity from Dehradun to Hyderabad. The state government paid around Rs 75 lakh for the three special aircraft besides purchasing air tickets for a few passengers, sources said.
“Wasteful expenditure could have been avoided had the two sides arranged aircraft on alternate days,” said an IAS official involved in relief operations in Uttarakhand.
The state also spent Rs 80 lakh for hiring two helicopters between July 22 and 28 in Uttarakhand. Inquiries revealed that one helicopter was used more by state and Union ministers and officers sent to monitor rescue operations than for airlifting pilgrims.