Journalism of Courage
Citing security reasons,the Lohegaon-based Indian Air Force (IAF) 2 wing has asked the Air Headquarters not to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Rs 14-crore Pawan Hans Training Institute (PHTI) coming up at Gliding Centre,Pune (GCP). PHHL,a navratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU),has finished the construction of three helipads on ground zero for the Institute,while the construction of the hangar is currently under way.
As reported by The Indian Express,in January,the IAF station had asked PHHL to get a clearance from the MoD before proceeding.
PHHL has proposed a Helicopter Training Academy at GCP. Under a contract by PHHL,National Building and Construction Company (NBCC) has been appointed as the management consultant for the project. The contract for construction at ground zero has been awarded to one M/s Surendra Infrastructure Pvt Ltd from Kolkata which has been constructing three helipads,two hangars,a parking lot and other such facilities.
A GCP official,on condition of anonymity,said,Work is still on at GCP. PHHL has finished construction of the helipads and structure of the hangar. But the speed has slowed down relatively. What also seems to be affecting significantly is the changes in the highest office of the DGCA which has now been taken over by Arun Mishra. Interestingly,PHHL has yet not obtained permission from the Pune District Collector for the construction.
According to the business model,the cost of setting up PHTI is about Rs 14.6 crore,of which the DGCA is funding Rs 5 crore in the first year. As per financial projections,the average annual revenue was projected to be Rs 2.29 crore from training institute for pilots,Rs 2.34 crore from training school AME and Rs 2.52 crore from heliport. This,against an average annual expenditure of Rs 5.21 crore,is expected to generate a profit of Rs 1.94 crore when fully operational. Profits were envisaged only from the second year. Also,there have been plans to start sorties between Mumbai and Pune. The Academy which was supposed to start in March has missed many deadlines before.
Despite repeated attempts,Sanjiv Behl,executive director,PHHL,did not respond to calls. A text message was not replied to.
