Chhattisgarh govt to hire choppers for dealing with Naxals

The Chhattisgarh government is in search of cheap choppers to press it into the operations going on against the Naxal guerillas in the forested pockets of the state.

The civil aviation department of the state government had floated tender inviting proposals from the aviation companies to operate two choppers for anti-Naxal operations. A Delhi-based company had been providing the services at present in the state.

"The state government wants to get choppers at cheaper rate and hence tender has been floated to make the bid more competitive", a senior official with the department told Business Standard. Besides a six-seater, a four-seater helicopter would be hired by the government.

According to department officials, the rate of choppers hired by the government was very high. The authorities are willing to give chance to other companies if it submitted proposals that will cost less to the state exchequer.

Secretary with the department of civil aviation R S Vishwakarma said that if the state government failed to get response in the tender, the contract of the present company would be extended.

The number of choppers to be taken on rent would however not be increased, he added.

The authorities are in fact struggling to convince the private companies to operate in the anti-Naxal operations.

“Since flying in the areas where Naxals have their sway is not an easy task, the private operators are showing reluctance and not participating in the tender process”, officials said.

In the tender conditions, the state government had sought no-objection certificates from the pilots and staffers to stay in the Naxal-infested areas. While the state authorities are exercising hard to convince the private companies to operate in the state, the new proposal to curtail the choppers rent is likely to add more problems, the officials said.