₹80 Lakh a Month — and Then a Free Flight?
Kerala was paying ₹80 lakh every month for a helicopter — even if it was barely used!!! The package covered 25 flying hours, but Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan himself says actual usage was often only 4–5 hours a month . That is ₹9.6 crore a year at the monthly rate. If the State genuinely needed only a few hours of flying, why was such a costly fixed contract allowed to continue? But the bigger question came immediately after. Chipsan Aviation's government helicopter contract expired on September 19 . The company then had a fresh commercial proposal before the government. Just two days later , the Chief Minister travelled on a chartered aircraft facilitated through the same company. Reported cost: ₹19.88 lakh . The CM's defence is that the government did not pay . But that completely misses the ethical question. When a company seeking business from your government helps arrange a benefit worth nearly ₹20 lakh, the issue is not merely whether taxpayers paid. The questions a...