Ordering a stay on the tender process for helicopter service to Badrinath and Kedarnath till further orders, the high court of Uttarakhand has given the State government to submit its response within two weeks.

According to the case details, RD Group from Dehradun had filed a petition stating that after disaster experienced in the state, the government had granted permission to 14 helicopter service provider enterprises to build helipads in order to facilitate transportation to Badrinath and Kedarnath. These companies built 14 helipads while the government also constructed four helipads. During 2016 the State had issued a government order prohibiting the operation of more than six helicopters at a time in the Mandakini valley from the safety point of view.

It had also been decided that permission would not be granted for construction of new helipad in the future. However, after the issuance of this order, four companies purportedly built four new helipads. The district magistrate had complained to the government regarding this but no action was taken by the government, the petitioner alleged. Further, on February 5, 2019, the state government invited tenders from companies for operation of helicopter services to Badrinath and Kedarnath.

However, on February 16, the civil aviation secretary purportedly made amendments to provide backdoor entry in the process to the four companies which had reportedly constructed helipads after the government order against it. The tender process has been challenged by the petitioner in the high court. After hearing the petition, the single bench of justice Alok Singh ordered a stay on the tender process and sought a response from the State Government within two weeks.