The Government has accorded its approval for operation of helicopter services in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on a pilot basis in 10 sectors, as per the stipulation that the most inaccessible destination points should be chosen. The scheme can be extended to other/additional sectors at a later date depending upon the assessment of the justifiable needs of the local population.
The State Governments of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh will re-identify/chose and finalize the most critical sectors in their States, with number of flying hours by the State Governments in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs based on current justifiable needs. While deciding the sectors for providing the air connectivity, the difference of time between the road travel and air travel may be taken as an important factor.
In case of Jammu and Kashmir, the recommendation of the Joint Working Group for the following five sectors in Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Zanskar-Leh has been accepted:
- Srinagar – Kargil – Srinagar
- Srinagar – Drass – Srinagar
- Kargil – Padum – Leh – Padum – Kargil
- Leh – Lingshed – Leh
- Srinagar – Leh – Srinagar
The above 5 sectors may be re-aligned based on the fresh assessment made by Government of J&K in consultation with MHA.
