Uttaranchal to buy aircraft

Uttaranchal government would buy a nine seater aircraft from US-based Raytheon Aircraft Company at a price of Rs 23 crore.

A team of government officials led by Civil Aviation Secretary P C Sharma is already camping in US to finalise the deal, official sources said here today. The deal is likely to be finalised in a day or two, the sources said.

The new plane would be a nine-passenger beech aircraft, which Raytheon considered it as one among the best.

According to informed sources, the government is also trying to resale its old aircraft, which it inherited from Uttar Pradesh, to Raytheon in lieu of the new buy. "This is being worked out as the government is not getting desirable price," the official said.

Significantly, the new plane is coming at a time when the state government is already trying to expand its Jollygrant airport, a move that has come under criticism from political parties because it would uproot scores of families from the area.

Secondly, the opposition parties are also criticising the government for "wasting" money on the purchase of the new aircraft.

"This is a very small state and heavy expenditure of buying a plane would put extra burden on the state exchequer," said BJP leader Ajay Bhat, an MLA from Ranikhet.

Meanwhile, the government is also looking for pilots to fly the new plane, which is expected to arrive very shortly.