If KCR wants to buy a chopper, Will Naidu lags behind?
HYDERABAD: A day after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed officials concerned to purchase a new chopper for his use, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu sent out feelers that he was also planning to have a new helicopter.
Naidu is learnt to have instructed officials to draft proposals for procuring the 'best chopper' for the State government as it does not have one, right now. He is also understood to have directed officials to look into the possibility of procuring an airplane.
The AP Chief Minister has either been hiring a helicopter or going by road during his visits to the districts. 'He flies in a passenger flight to the nearest airport and then, goes by road on most occasions,' a senior official said.
Hiring a private chopper is an expensive affair and is proving burdensome for the cash-starved AP government. 'That's the reason why Naidu wants to buy the best available helicopter for his district tours,' the official said.
However, a final decision in this regard will be taken only after the first phase of the crop loan waiver scheme is implemented. 'Though the CM has asked officials to prepare plans for procuring a new helicopter as he needs it to shuttle between Hyderabad and AP districts, he is worried that buying an expensive chopper for himself might give scope for criticism as the State has empty coffers. Hence, he wants to buy the chopper after some time,' said an official in the CMO.
In fact, neither the Telangana government nor its AP counterpart has a helicopter of its own. Chief Ministers of both the States are hiring private choppers for official tours. The two helicopters, which the erstwhile United AP had, perished in accidents. The Bell-430 carrying the then CM YSR crashed in Sept 2009, while Augusta was gutted in Dec 2012.
News Posted: 9 October, 2014
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