Short helicopter trips by Telangana Ministers trigger wasteful spending debate

Congress Ministers again faced criticism for using helicopters to travel short distances for official visits in Telangana. The latest trip to Nalgonda and Khammam revived concerns over wasteful expenditure despite earlier objections from political leaders and civil society groups.

Hyderabad: Ignoring criticism over the use of helicopters for short-distance travel, Congress Ministers continue to rely on helicopter rides for official visits on Thursday.

A group of Ministers travelled by helicopter from Begumpet Airport to Nalgonda, covering a distance of around 100 km, to inspect paddy procurement operations.

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They are visiting a procurement centre and later hold a review meeting on procurement at the District Collectorate in Nalgonda. The Ministers are also scheduled to travel by helicopter to Khammam to inspect another procurement centre.

The team included Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, SC Development Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar and Civil Supplies Commissioner Stephen Raveendra.

The helicopter trip from Hyderabad to Nalgonda drew criticism on social media. An X user identified as FSB sarcastically remarked, “What a fuel saving … Telangana Ministers always inspire me.”

This is not the first such incident to trigger criticism. In July last year, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy faced backlash for travelling by helicopter from Begumpet to Ramoji Film City, a distance of about 35 km, to attend a private film-related programme.

They later travelled by helicopter from Ramoji Film City to Tungaturthy, covering around 110 km, to launch a ration card distribution programme.

Concerns over the increasing use of helicopters had also surfaced within the government. In the past, Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha had reportedly criticised some Ministers, saying they had become dependent on helicopter travel and were unwilling to travel without such facilities.

Forum for Good Governance president M Padmanabha Reddy also objected to the practice. He said Ministers and other VVIPs had earlier used helicopters mainly in areas affected by extremist activity or during natural calamities to assess damage.

“Telangana is a small State. After travelling about 200 km from Hyderabad, one can reach another State. But these days Ministers are using helicopters even for distances between 30 km and 100 km. It is unfortunate,” he said.

Padmanabha Reddy also referred to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari travelling by bus to Pune and Solapur to reduce convoy expenditure. He further pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently called for austerity measures in view of geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

“Is Telangana not part of India and don’t our Ministers have responsibility? There is no justification for this wasteful expenditure,” he said.