On April 30, the state government suspended operation of the state-run Pawan Hans chopper service hours after a helicopter carrying the then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu, along with four others, crashed.
‘I have written a letter to the DGCA this morning (Monday) requesting them to assist the state in floating a new tender for providing helicopter service,’ Transport Minister Abu Taher Mondal told IANS.
He said the licence of Pawan Hans to operate in Meghalaya expired February 2011, but due to requirements of the service it was allowed to operate.
In the letter, Mondal said the government also asked the DGCA to recommend the name of consultants to assist the transport department in preparing the tender document.
Chopper service was introduced in Meghalaya in March 1988, but the service was suspended after it was found financially unviable.
The government re-introduced the helicopter service in 1999 with the union home ministry agreeing to provide 50 percent subsidy for the service. The state government contributed another 25 percent subsidy.