Calcutta, March 18: When MoU falls like manna from heaven, celebrate the “historic” occasion — as the Mamata government did today.

The heavyweights in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet and the who’s who of the bureaucracy lined up at Town Hall today to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

The MoU promises to connect Calcutta with the districts by helicopters, seaplanes and fixed-wing planes. A government statement described the agreement with Pawan Hans, a public sector company, as “historic” but mentioned neither the projected investment nor the gestation period.

Don’t ask who will take the flights in the absence of industry when the services start.

The importance accorded to the programme suggested that against the backdrop of a drought of big-ticket investments, any project is capable of driving the government into delirious celebrations.

MoUs were tom-tommed in Bengal when Jyoti Basu was in power. But soon, they became a synonym for tall claims and a source of mirth, immortalised by “Mouda” — a reference in jest to then WBIDC chairman Somnath Chatterjee.

Evidently, MoU has been restored its glory now. “The signing of the MoU… is historic. It will create the right atmosphere for a meaningful relationship between the state government and the national helicopter company of the country and should trigger a series of steps towards establishing air/helicopter connectivity between different parts of the state,” a government release said.

Mamata took to Facebook to underscore the significance of the project. “Today, the state has begun its journey to reach a new trajectory in air services for the benefit of consumers, tourists and people engaged in business and the hospitality industry of Bengal,” the chief minister posted.

“These air services will promote businesses, industries, tourism, cultural tourism and also include joy rides, chartered services, and medical evacuation, whenever feasible,” she added.

Anil Srivastava, chairman-cum-managing director of Pawan Hans, sounded modest in comparison. “The routes will depend on the markets. We are planning to keep two helicopters initially once things are finalised,” he said.

A senior government official later said: “Little has been finalised: the routes, the number of copters and planes required, the money it involves and the market that is being targeted.”

Moon Moon Sen, who was in the audience, said the helicopter service was a “great idea as long as Pawan Hans can pull it through”.

Earlier, a private operator had started operations between Calcutta and Cooch Behar but had to close it down because of lack of passengers.

“Unless there is a steady flow of high-end passengers, the project won’t succeed. It can’t depend on government subsidies,” said an official of a private operator. Hiring a single-engine helicopter for an hour costs around Rs 90,000 while a double-engine copter costs Rs 1.5 lakh.

A travel industry source raised a larger issue. “We need industry to make such projects viable. It would be difficult to find high-end passengers hiring seats on a helicopter or chartered flights,” he said.

Over to Partha Chatterjee, the industries minister, and Amit Mitra, “my colleague and excellent finance minister” as Mamata introduced him at the event.