New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it has
permitted some naxal-affected states to hire helicopters for
supporting security forces involved in anti-Maoist operations.
"To meet the shortfall, the Left Wing Extremism (LWE)
affected states have been permitted to hire helicopters under
the security related expenditure scheme on need basis,"
Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha in a
written reply.
Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have also
projected the requirement of dedicated helicopters to support
the security forces deployed in LWE-affected areas. As per
inputs, the state governments of Maharashtra and Orissa have
hired one helicopter each from Pawan Hans to support the
security forces deployed in LWE affected areas, he said.
"At present, a total of 9 helicopters of the Indian Air
Force (IAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) have been provided
to support the security forces deployed in naxal-affected
states.
"Out of these, four Mi-17 helicopters of IAF are located
in Chhattisgarh and out of five `Dhruv` helicopters of BSF,
three are placed at Raipur in Chhattisgarh and two at Ranchi
in Jharkhand," the minister said.
PTI
