Srinagar: In Jammu and Kashmir, where two lakh unemployed youths on Tuesday appeared in the State Selection Recruitment Board examination for just 1200 non-gazetted posts, the government has decided to add one more helicopter to its fleet for VIPs.
According to reports, during the past 10 years, an amount of Rs 310 crore has been spent on purchase of air-fleet while it has incurred an expenditure of Rs 12 crore on the plane and chopper sorties to facilitate movement of dignitaries in the past three years in the state. The decision was made even as the state government employees are protesting, demanding release of salaries of daily wagers and contractual besides regularisation of those who have completed seven years in service.
There are more than six lakh unemployed youngsters in the state, where under the new employment policy, a new recruit will get at an average of Rs 3000 per month for first two years and Rs 5500 during next three years before getting the full salary.
However, despite facing major financial crunch, the government has decided to go ahead and purchase one more helicopter for which a high level committee headed by State Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday worked out the modalities for procurement of a 'Light Twin-Engine Helicopter' suitable for the state. According to reports, the government has already shortlisted some foreign companies and carried out technical evaluation for the purchase of the chopper. At present the state has a fleet of one fixed-wing aircraft (King Air-350) and two helicopters - double engine Augusta 109 and single engine Bell 407.
Reports said that the 2006 model Augusta is used to ferry VVIPs and VIPs including the Governor, the Chief Minister and the cabinet ministers other dignitaries from outside to remote and inaccessible areas while as the 2001-model Bell has been kept for ferrying ministers of state, bureaucrats and is used for carrying out relief and rescues operation including evacuation of patients and injured persons from remote areas which remained cut off during winter due to closure of roads due to snowfall.
The decision to buy new chopper was taken by the state government after the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came up with regulations for all states that VIPs including cabinet ministers should be ferried in the double-engine helicopters following some tragic accident in different parts of the country, including in Andhra where Chief minister died in the crash. Purchase of twin engine helicopter become a necessity in view of the fact that the state has only one double engine helicopter which is mostly being used for Governor or Chief Minister," sources said. A senior official in the Civil Aviation Department said another reason was that the existing fleet of helicopters was 'growing old'.
"There are more chances of old a helicopters developing technical snags and hence a threat to life," the official said. It would cost the cash-starved J&K dearly, where the Power Development Department said it has no money to replace rotten and damaged electric poles, which poses a major threat to life and property, people are taking to streets daily against water shortage and damaged roads.
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