The Gujarat government spent Rs 13 crore on its much-hyped seaplane service between Ahmedabad and Kevadia, the seat of the Statue of Unity, in 2020, which was grounded barely months after the launch. The government revealed this in the state Assembly during the ongoing Budget Session on Thursday.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA from Porbandar Arjun Modhwadia, the government said that Rs 13 crore was spent for launching the seaplane project between Ahmedabad to Kevadia in Narmada district.
The project, which ran into turbulence soon after the launch, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to 2020 Assembly bypolls. Even after the launch, the service, which was claimed to be India's first, remained erratic and was finally discontinued.
Terming the project as a "political stunt" to make headlines to win polls, Modhwadia said, "The Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] had brought the seaplane at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and made big headlines in 2017 before the election. Later, at least twice they created a drama out of it. In 2020, this seaplane project was announced and then launched. Today, we don't know anything about the seaplane. The government didn't give any information today during question hour about its resumption."
The government said that the seaplane was launched on October 31, 2020 at a cost of Rs 13,15,06,737. It said that the service was no longer available. The government cited several reasons behind the cessation of the service, adding that "due to the aircraft having [been] registered abroad, there were difficulties in maintenance and operating cost was also higher." The written reply stated that the service was closed on April 10, 2021.
Last week, during the session, the government informed the House that it wanted to restart the service but didn't specify the dates. In the House, the government also revealed that in the past two years, from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022, it spent Rs 20.81 crore on maintenance and operation of the new aircraft—a Bombardier Challenger 650—acquired during the previous Vijay Rupani government at a cost of Rs 197.90 crore. In all, the government spent over Rs 36 crore in the past two years on flying from helicopters and planes and their maintenance.