Palamu Tiger reserve has issued an expression of interest for its three drones to be used in its tiger reserve’s territory covering two districts latehar and Garhwa. DFO Core of the PTR Anil Kumar Mishra said the last date for submission of technical and financial bid is February 10.
Sources said the expression of interest has been invited at such a time when ministry of Home Affairs government of India is yet to give its clearance to the use of three drones in this tiger reserve.
The DGCA has already accorded its NoC to it but it is mandatory to have clearance from MHA and MoD (Ministry of Defence ) too. The entire project is worth `27 lakhs out of which `21 lakhs is for three drones.
Chief conservator forest cum field director PTR M P Singh said that clearance from MHA and MoD is to be sought and PCCF Ranchi has been requested to initiate steps for this. The maximum height this man less aircraft is to fly over this PTR is 400 meter only.
Sources said IIT Kharagpur had shown its interest in conducting a drone experiment here in this PTR and it also sent in its proposed budget for it where for every service of experiment the IIT Kharagpur was to charge money from the PTR.
However field director M P Singh and his officer Anil K Mishra said, “Once we understood that IIT Kharagpur would be taking money from us for the drone experiment here we decided to shut this chapter once for all as there was no point in giving them any money for the experiment of drone that the IIT Kharagpur so assured us here to perform’.Sources said the IIT team of Kharagpur even took a train for Daltonganj but mid way in its journey some equipment that this team was bringing with it got damaged in the coach of the train itself forcing the IIT team to abandon the journey midway.
M P Singh confirmed this freak incident that occurred to IIT team in the train coach who added had the team arrived here even then we would have packed them off lovingly as we were not in a position to foot any bill of the team at all.