The Rajasthan government will spend an estimated Rs 23.79 crore annually to lease a helicopter from a private company for VIP flights, the state assembly was informed. In a written reply to an unstarred question by Congress MLA Shikha Meel Barala in the assembly on Friday, the state government stated that it did not have any aircraft.
"The state government currently does not have any airplane or helicopter. On June 5, 2024, the state government signed an agreement for taking on lease or rent a helicopter from M/s Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, New Delhi," the reply stated.
"An amount of Rs 23.79 crore is estimated to be spent on this every year," it added.
The House was also informed that the state government's expenditure on aircraft services was Rs 8.03 crore in 2020-21, Rs 7.19 crore in 2021-22, Rs 31.30 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 29.94 crore in 2023-24. Responding to the reply, Congress MLA Barala told media that instead of spending crores on taking a helicopter on lease, it would have been better to purchase one.
"If the government had bought a helicopter for this amount, it would have been financially better in the future," she said.
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