Raj Bhavan Secretariat Was Supposed To Ensure Availability Of  Aircraft For Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari: Maharashtra Government

Mumbai, February 11, 2021: The Raj Bhavan Secretariat should have made sure that the Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was allowed to use the aircraft before the Governor’s visit. Failure to do so led to the inconvenience of a prominent person like the governor, Maharashtra government said.

Today, Governor Koshyari reached Mumbai Airport and boarded the government plane to go to Dehradun. Governor was informed that permission for use of aircraft had not been received. Tickets were booked on a commercial aircraft immediately and he left for Dehradun. The Governor’s office had sought approval to use the plane on February 2, Raj Bhavan officials said.

According to the state government, the Raj Bhavan had requested the state government to allow the Governor to board the aircraft. As per the rules, permission is sought before boarding a government aircraft and the aircraft is made available only after approval.

According to this, on February 10, the Chief Minister’s Secretariat had sent a message (to the Governor’s office) that the use of aircraft has not been approved yet. After receiving this approval, the Raj Bhavan Secretariat was expected to plan the flight of the Governor and bring him to the airport. However, as the concerned officials of Raj Bhavan did not confirm the approval, the Governor could not go to the desired place by a government plane, the government stated in a press release.

“The Raj Bhavan Secretariat was expected to take adequate care in the case of persons holding constitutional posts like the Governor, but this did not happen”, the release concluded.