Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31 (IANS): Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan on Thursday asked Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to withdraw his decision of hiring a helicopter for his travel, in the wake of unprecedented financial crisis gripping  the state.

Satheesan said, of late, Vijayan time and again reminds all to cut costs.

“If he has any scruples, instead of advising people to tighten their belts, he should lead from the front and withdraw from the contract which will see the hiring of a helicopter for his travel,” said Satheesan.

The state government is getting ready to hire the services of helicopter with Delhi-based Chipsan Aviation for which all the administrative clearances have been given from the various state departments.

According to the agreement every month for around 20 hours of flying, the charges have been fixed at Rs 80 lakh and for every extra hour beyond that the charges have been fixed at Rs 90,000.

Incidentally, Kerala is passing through one of its worst financial crises.

This extravagance comes at a time when the state treasury department is unable to even honor a cheque worth Rs five lakh and hence Vijayan should not go forward with this agreement, the Congress leader said.