PUNE: Prompted
by the several snags in choppers carrying CM Devendra Fadnavis last year and
keeping in mind the increased VIP movements in Maharashtra, the government
has finalised a helipad policy for helicopters meant to fly VVIPs.
On Thursday, the general administration (civil aviation)
department issued the policy that makes construction of a designated helipad
mandatory in all 358 talukas of 36 districts in the state. The policy states
that the district collectors have to ready the permanent sites for the proposed helipads
in accordance with the civil aviation guidelines.
"A helipad in taluka will ensure provision of a safe
landing space. This was necessary because of the heavy VIP movement across the
state. The district collectors will have to take up construction of the
helipads through the PWD," principal secretary (civil aviation) Valsa Nair
Singh told pune-news.com.
The policy has been outlined in accordance with the Director
General of Civil Aviation's guidelines and it ensures that the rules related to
the helipads are stringent. It has mandated the size of the helipads and their
maintenance in accordance with all protocol and safety measures.
The policy details the specifications for the temporary
helipads that can be set up on a school and police ground or in an MIDC area.
The policy also puts restrictions on the baggage to be carried and arrangements
to be made by the district collector for the VVIPs' road transport. The VVIPs
include the governor, chief minister and the state ministers who use
state-owned or hired aircraft.
Revenue department (Pune district) officials said their
proposal for a helipad near Circuit House was pending with the defence
ministry. The CMs chopper had malfunctioned more than five times in 2017,
following which he had issued a statement that helipads were constructed on
vast stretches of land without the mandatory specifications.
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