The West Bengal government’s search for an aircraft operator, with the offer of an assured 45 hours of flying every month, has raised questions on the necessity of such expenditure for a cash-strapped government with Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari coming out with a caustic tweet on Wednesday.
The West Bengal Infrastructure Development Corporation had floated the tender for hiring the fixed-wing aircraft on June 11 with earnest money is fixed at Rs 10 lakh. Among the requirements listed by WBIDC are: the firm should have a minimum of five-year experience of operating a fixed-wing twin-engine aircraft with a minimum capacity of 8-10 passengers, the aircraft has to be an air-conditioned, pressurised super mid-size aircraft like a Falcon- 2000 with stand-up cabin space and be capable of flying any distance within India.
The tender document mentions that the aircraft should be equipped for meeting standards of use by a VIP.
“Pushpak Rath for (self-proclaimed) PM??? Dissatisfied with the helicopter's range, the process of acquiring a 10 seater airplane has been initiated. Convenient for whimsical crisscrossing of the entire country for upcoming Lok Sabha poll campaigning? On Govt expenses?” tweeted Adhikari, the BJP leader who held the transport department when he was a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government.
The chief minister, who often speaks about her austere lifestyle and is known for being a frugal eater, is, however, showing an inclination to travel like her counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
In 2016, the Bengal government had floated a tender for an aircraft with a capacity of seven to nine passengers for a period of five years. Sources said the Bengal government pays Rs 70 lakh per month to the Delhi-based agency which had received the contract. The aircraft was lying idle for the most part of 2020 after the pandemic-induced lockdown was imposed while the state paid for it.
The decision to get the aircraft in 2016 was taken after Mamata found travel by rail and road cumbersome when she used to frequent the districts, especially in North Bengal.
More Opposition leaders spoke out against the Bengal government's desire for an aircraft. "When the state is going through a financial crisis such expenses are meaningless. Problem is neither Pisi (Mamata) nor Bhaipo (Trinamul all India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) are comfortable staying on the ground," said Sujan Chakraborty, CPM central committee member.
"There is a competition between Modi and Mamata on who can waste more public money. People are watching this competition," said Abdul Mannan, veteran Congress leader.
In September 2011, Mamata after returning from North Bengal had complained of a conspiracy when the flight she was in could not land for around 30 minutes. Five years later, in December 2016 Mamata claimed another conspiracy to eliminate her after the flight she was in could not land at the Calcutta airport.
In April 2019, during the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Mamata’s chopper lost its way near the Bangladesh border and took 55 minutes to cover a 22-minutes journey from Siliguri to Chopra.
