PHL may delay NE project

NEW DELHI, May 6: Handicapped by delay in clearances, the public sector helicopter giant Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) has threatened to "put on hold" its plan to start helicopter service in the North-East region. The proposed service, to be operated from Guwahati to Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland from December, was announced in November by the then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

Ministry sources said the plan had failed to take-off due to "lack of response" from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the governments of four North-Eastern states on the issue of subsidy. The proposed helicopter service required an annual subsidy of nearly Rs 16 crore. Of this, the Ministry of Home Affairs was to provide nearly 75 per cent. The remaining 25 per cent was to be recovered from passengers and Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland governments. However, the Home Ministry has not responded to the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Finance Ministry has provided Rs 8.62 crore to the Home Ministry towards subsidy for the proposed helicopter service in 1997-98 but the move has not helped. The four state governments, too, do not want to share the subsidy on revival of helicopter service with the deployment of the Russian MI-172 helicopters. The helicopter service with subsidy from MHA and the state governments was halted.