Madhya Pradesh Government Spending Rs 21 Lakh On Air Travel Daily, Shows Data

Madhya Pradesh's aviation bill has reached unprecedented levels, with new data showing the government is now spending nearly Rs 21 lakh per day on hired aircraft and helicopters during Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's tenure.

The disclosure came in the ongoing Madhya Pradesh Assembly session in response to questions raised by Congress MLAs Pratap Grewal and Pankaj Upadhyay and has intensified scrutiny of the state's mounting financial pressures, especially at a time when the state's debt has surged 16 times in the last 20 years, rising from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 4.64 lakh crore, with the state now paying Rs 27,000 crore annually just in interest.

According to the report tabled in the Assembly, the state spent Rs 290 crore on aircraft rentals between January 2021 and November 2025. 

Rs 90.7 crore has been paid to private operators this year so far, indicating the highest-ever annual expenditure on rented aircraft.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav acknowledged that the state's aircraft rental expenditure in 2019 stood at Rs 1.63 crore annually, but by 2025 it had jumped to Rs 90.7.

From January 2024 to November 2025, the government spent Rs 143 crore on aircraft and helicopter rentals. Spread over roughly 23 months, this works out to about Rs 6.2 crore per month, or around Rs 20-21 lakh per day (on average). By contrast, in the three years before this period, from January 2021 to December 2023, the government spent the remaining Rs 147 crore, which comes to roughly Rs 4.1 crore per month, or around Rs 13-14 lakh per day on average.

Documents submitted in the House show that the government approved substantial fare hikes in 2023. Citing reasons such as rising post-COVID-19 tourism, increased aircraft demand, disrupted production, upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and sharply rising fuel and maintenance costs, the state revised rental rates upward.

As a result, aircraft and helicopter fares rose by 20-30%. Rates climbed from Rs 4.45 lakh/hour in 2022-23 to Rs 5.70 lakh/hour in 2024. Another category rose from Rs 3.50 lakh/hour to Rs 4.75 lakh/hour. Helicopter rates in certain categories touched Rs 5.29 lakh per hour.

In a separate response to MLA Pankaj Upadhyay, the government admitted that it currently possesses only one functional helicopter. The state-owned aircraft, which crashed in May 2021, remains grounded at the Gwalior Airbase and has not been repaired or replaced in over four years.

With no operational fixed-wing aircraft and only one serviceable helicopter, the government has become increasingly dependent on private aviation companies, leading to soaring expenses.
Opposition leaders have questioned why the government has not restored or replaced its grounded aircraft, arguing that the steep rise in aviation spending could have been avoided with timely fleet management.