Naheed Ataulla/TNN
Bangalore, Feb 2: Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has been heli-hopping virtually every day of the last eight months. This, going by the aviation fuel he has burnt. It is Rs 2,53,39,252, which is approximately 50% of the total amount incurred on chopper flying of his predecessors N Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy put together during their tenures!
The helicopter tab of Yeddyurappa beginning May 30, 2008, when he took over as CM, till December 31, 2008 was accessed by The Times of India under the RTI Act. It said all these trips by the CM were made by private helicopters hired on an hourly basis as the government does not own a chopper. On an average, the CM has been spending Rs 31,67,406.25 per month.
During the tenures of Singh and Kumaraswamy, the helicopter expenditure was Rs 17 lakh on an average per month. Both former CMs had spent Rs 5,39,45,695 totally.
In July 2008, a technical committee of experts was constituted to look into the prospects of Karnataka buying a twin-engine copter or an aircraft for the CM, no decision has been taken as yet. AP CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy flies in a multi-role AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter. Though his counterparts in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and J&K use another model — AugustaWestland AW109 power choppers, AP is the first state to have the AW139 one.