New Delhi: Commenting on the recently presented CAG report in Parliament earlier this month, Kharge expressed, “The Modi government’s lofty commitment to air travel for all, even in slippers, has dissipated into thin air, much like their other pledges. We’re not the ones saying this – the CAG report speaks for itself.”
He continued, “The UDAN scheme faltered on a staggering 93 percent of its designated routes. Notably, the airlines lacked independent audits. Even the highly publicized helicopter services remained grounded. Instead of delivering ‘flights,’ they provided only falsehoods and empty rhetoric. Such ineptitude from the government will not be pardoned by the people of India.”
Kharge’s remarks emerged shortly after the CAG report shed light on the fact that, up to UDAN-3, a significant 52 percent (403 out of 774 routes) of the awarded routes were unable to initiate operations. Among the 371 routes that did commence operations, only 112 routes (30 percent) were able to fulfill the entire three-year concession period.
Moreover, out of these 112 routes, a mere 54 routes (constituting 7 percent of the awarded routes) connecting 17 RCS Airports managed to maintain operations beyond the three-year concession period, as of March 2023 – a key observation highlighted in the report.