Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police is set to hire a helicopter, with the technical bids to be opened on December 4.
The bid opening will be held at the police headquarters by the technical committee that comprises the Director General of Police (DGP), Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), and additional secretary of the store purchase department.
The technical evaluation of the bids will be held at the SAP parade ground on December 6.
In April 2020, the state government had hired a 10-seater helicopter from the Pawan Hans, a public sector helicopter service company, for one year and the contract expired in April 2021. The monthly rent was Rs 1.44 crore plus the GST.
Subsequently, the DGP's recommendation to call for a new tender was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tender proceedings were initiated in October.
The helicopter, that can carry six passengers, will be hired for three years. The helicopter should not be very old and will have to fly for over 20 hours per month are some of the other conditions stipulated.
Row marred earlier deal
Earlier the the Pawan Hans deal was mired in a political row as the chopper was hired during a financial crisis and allegedly no tenders were called. Moreover, the decision to hire the helicopter of a company that quoted a higher rate, while sideling a firm that offered a lower rate was widely panned.
The Chipsan Aviation in Bengaluru had offered to rent out three helicopters for the same rate, Rs 1.44 crore per month, quoted by Pawan Hans, but the government did not accept.
The state government had earlier spent Rs 22.21 crore on helicopter rent and maintenance. As much as Rs 56.72 lakh was spent just on parking fees. While the Kerala government had to pay a monthly rent of Rs 1.44 crore, the Chhattisgarh government paid just Rs 85 lakh for a helicopter with the same facilities.
Even now it is alleged hiring a helicopter for the police is an extravagance.
