Additional subsidy for heli services in places identified under UDAN scheme: U'khand CM

Aviation firms offering helicopter services at places identified under the UDAN scheme will get additional subsidy from the Uttarakhand government, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Saturday.

Announcing the incentive at the country's first Helicopter Summit here, Rawat said Uttarakhand has great potential for expansion of heli services.

"Companies which offer heli services in areas identified under the UDAN Yojana will get subsidy from the state government in addition to the subsidy given by the Centre," he said.

The first-of-its-kind summit based on the theme of expanding connectivity through helicopters was organised here jointly by the Civil Aviation Ministry, the state government and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).

Considering the geographical situation of Uttarakhand, heli services are very important for the state as it may take upto 20 hours to reach the border areas, Rawat said.

Noting that the border areas of Uttarakhand were endowed with great scenic beauty, he said these services will also make it easier for filmmakers to shoot their films in picturesque locations of the state, which has emerged as one of the country's finest film shooting destinations in recent years.

Citing an instance, Rawat said filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt was planning to shoot a film in Romania, when the chief minister, who was in Mumbai to invite investors to a summit in Dehradun, extended an invitation to him to try some locations in Uttarakhand.

Bhatt visited the border areas of the state at his invitation and was highly impressed by what he saw.

Usha Padhee, the joint secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said boosting heli connectivity in the hill areas was the ministry's commitment.

She said a water drome is being developed over Tehri lake to run sea planes there.