THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will hire a helicopter from a private company to ferry the Chief Minister, state police chief and other top officials. The contract is for three years. For this, the government is considering companies such as Chipsan Aviation, OSS - Air Management and Heliway Charters. Earlier, the government had hired a helicopter from Pawan Hans, a public sector undertaking.

A chopper, which is not more than 15 years old, will be selected for ferrying the VIPs. Safety will be given utmost priority. Therefore, operators who were involved in higher number of accidents will be avoided. The state will hire a twin-engine helicopter that will be able to carry six VIP passengers, 9 regular passengers and 10 kg of luggage each. The condition is to fly at least 20 hours per month.

The public sector helicopter had refused to fly during rains or winds. Though efforts were made to ferry rescue workers and medical teams using the chopper to landslide-struck Pettimudi, the chopper could not be used due to unfavourable weather conditions. After the weather became favourable, the same helicopter was used to ferry the Chief Minister and the Governor to the disaster-hit areas. During the Maoist surveillance in areas such as Wayanad, the pilots had refused to fly the chopper citing adverse weather conditions.

Earlier, the government was criticised for wasting Rs 22 crore in the name of the helicopter. This time, the helicopter will be hired for aerial surveillance, forest surveillance, rescue operations, surveillance in border areas and coastal and tourist and pilgrimage areas, and the travel of police and dignitaries in emergencies. The helicopter's expense will be borne from the central fund for police modernization.