Madhya Pradesh Government Aviation Expenses Surge to Rs 21 Lakh Daily: Financial Analysis and Impact

Bhopal:

Madhya Pradesh's expenditure on aviation has reached record highs, with recent data revealing that the government is now spending approximately Rs 21 lakh daily on chartered aircraft and helicopters during Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's administration.

The information emerged during the current Madhya Pradesh Assembly session in response to inquiries from Congress MLAs Pratap Grewal and Pankaj Upadhyay. This revelation has heightened concerns about the state's growing financial burden, particularly as Madhya Pradesh's debt has multiplied 16 times over the past two decades, escalating from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 4.64 lakh crore, with annual interest payments now reaching Rs 27,000 crore.

The report presented to the Assembly indicated that between January 2021 and November 2025, the state allocated Rs 290 crore for aircraft rentals.

In the current year alone, Rs 90.7 crore has been disbursed to private operators, marking the highest yearly expenditure on rented aircraft to date.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav confirmed that while the state's aircraft rental costs in 2019 were Rs 1.63 crore annually, by 2025 this figure had surged to Rs 90.7 crore.

For the period spanning January 2024 to November 2025, the government invested Rs 143 crore in aircraft and helicopter rentals. When calculated across approximately 23 months, this translates to roughly Rs 6.2 crore monthly, or an average of Rs 20-21 lakh daily. In comparison, during the preceding three years from January 2021 to December 2023, the government spent the remaining Rs 147 crore, averaging about Rs 4.1 crore monthly, or between Rs 13-14 lakh daily.

Documentation submitted to the Assembly revealed that the government sanctioned significant fare increases in 2023. The state justified these rate revisions by citing factors such as post-COVID-19 tourism growth, heightened demand for aircraft, production disruptions, forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, and sharply rising fuel and maintenance expenses.

Consequently, aircraft and helicopter rental rates increased by 20-30%. Hourly rates rose from Rs 4.45 lakh in 2022-23 to Rs 5.70 lakh in 2024. Another category saw an increase from Rs 3.50 lakh per hour to Rs 4.75 lakh per hour. Certain helicopter categories now command rates as high as Rs 5.29 lakh hourly.

In a separate response to MLA Pankaj Upadhyay, the government acknowledged possessing only one operational helicopter. The state-owned aircraft, which crashed in May 2021, remains inactive at the Gwalior Airbase and has neither been repaired nor replaced in over four years.

Without a functioning fixed-wing aircraft and with just one serviceable helicopter, the government has become increasingly reliant on private aviation providers, resulting in escalating expenses. Opposition members have questioned the government's decision not to restore or replace its grounded aircraft, contending that the dramatic increase in aviation expenses could have been mitigated through timely fleet management.