WB justifies chopper expenses

CHANDRAJIT MUKHERJEE
Ranchi, July 11: The state has once again tried to justify its stand on the use of government chopper by filing an affidavit in the high court.

Civil aviation deputy-general manager Amal Krishna Satyajit has stated in an affidavit filed today that the government has not misused public money for using the chopper against the norms.

The matter had come up in a PIL filed by Koderma-based social worker Bindu Bhushan Dubey, who had sought information from the government regarding the use of the helicopter. Dubey, based on official documents, levelled allegations of swindling of about Rs 34 crore between April 2005 and March 2008.

Refuting allegations, Krishna said that the government had spent money on buying Dhruv — a helicopter procured for the home department to counter Naxalite operations. Krishna gave details of expenditure incurred on maintenance of Dhruv, which was not the subject matter of the PIL filed by Dubey.

He accused the government of being misleading. While the petition has been filed seeking details of the chopper’s expenditure, the state was trying to cover up by giving details of Dhruv, Dubey added. The government, despite several court proddings, has still not furnished the required data and records of flights undertaken in the helicopter hired from private companies by the state during the relevant period.

The office of the accountant-general has also found gross irregularities in accounts maintained by the civil aviation department for the use of the chopper, he said.

Dubey promised to move the high court seeking a probe and request for initiation of CBI investigation.