State pilots wonder what to fly

Maharashtra state is stuck in an awkward situation as far as its official aircrafts meant for VIPs are concerned. Till recently, the government had been struggling for pilots to fly their planes as their only pilot did not qualify the regulations. Now, two newly-recruited pilots are sitting idle as the state has failed to buy new aircrafts due to poor response from the aircraft companies.
Retired from Indian Air Force (IAF), the two pilots can’t do anything much but fly the only helicopter meant for the VIPs in the state. Even with an allocated budget of Rs38 crore, the state’s efforts to commission a new aircraft was unsuccessful with its appeal made through a tender failing to obtain a good response from aircraft companies.
After the Director General of Civil Aviation disqualified Navin Srivatsava, the only pilot working with the state, in November last year, the government neither had a pilot for several months nor were the private pilots willing to join the state services. It was only after state requested IAF to provide them with pilots that the two pilots were appointed.
“MN Dalvi and Sanjay Karve have joined us as pilots in the last couple of months at the salary of nearly Rs1 lakh a month,” said a senior officer from General Administrative Department. “We have Neetu Gupta as co-pilot. But she has no authority to fly an aircraft as she hasn’t completed 300 hours of her flying. We have been waiting for a good response from the aircraft companies as we have a budgetary allocation of Rs35 crore for a new Jet 400 XP aircraft,” he said.
20/03/07 Surendra Gangan/Daily News & Analysis