The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) will be registered under the Companies Act. This decision was taken in the fifth meeting of the UCADA board of directors presided over by the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday.
Till now, the UCADA has been registered under the Societies Act which is presenting difficulties in the conduct of commercial activities.
Hence, the board of directors decided to get the authority registered under the Companies Act. In addition to this, the board also agreed upon purchase of double-engine helicopter. Regarding this, the chief minister has directed that a technical committee should be formed and all necessary technical aspects should be studied. Rawat said that there is need for expansion of helicopter services in the state. All necessary efforts should be undertaken in order to facilitate this, he said. Rawat also directed that the state aircraft B 200 be repaired soon. He further directed that regarding the single-engine and double-engine helicopters hired by UCADA, the necessary arrangements for payment of the amount should be observed.
Arrangements in other state for the same purpose should also be studied, said the chief minister.
The board also approved appointment on contract basis of the head of opration and pilot for the state aircraft B 200 and other issues.
The civil aviation secretary Dilip Jawalkar informed that bringing the UCADA under the ambit of the Companies Act will facilitate a boost to the authority’s commercial activities. This will further help in strengthening of existing helipads, construction of new helipads and encouraging participation and investment of the private sector in the Char Dham Yatra and tourism sector.
The UCADA chief executive officer Sonika presented a detailed work plan of the authority in the meeting. Financial adviser to the chief minister, Alok Bhatt, civil aviation adviser Deep Srivastav, secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, UCADA additional CEO Ashish Bhatgain and other officials concerned were also present in the meeting.