The Haryana government is working on a scheme that will enable youngsters from the state undergoing pilot training to pay only half the cost or course fee, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Monday.

"Under this scheme, the government will bear half the fees. For this, talks are going on with various civil aviation companies. Two rounds of talks have also taken place at the state level.?

"The state government aims to provide ample employment in this field by imparting training to the maximum number of pilots in the state," Chautala said in Bhiwani. Chautala, who also holds the civil aviation portfolio, said the state government has worked to establish civil aviation as an industry on a priority basis during the last three years.?

"About 350 youths are taking training in private and government Flying Training Organizations in the state. Of this, around 120 are being trained by the Flight Simulation Technique Centre and the rest by the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation. "The airstrips of Karnal, Pinjore and Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Bachhod are being developed by the government," he said in a statement.

Chautala further said the Bhiwani airstrip is being expanded.?"...work will be done to widen the runway, make taxi tracks, increase facilities for youth taking pilot training and establish a terminal, fire station etc at the earliest," he said.

The Jannayak Janata Party leader inspected the expansion work at the airstrip. He also held a meeting with officials of the Power and Public Works departments.?He said solar lights should be installed on the airstrip and directed the officers concerned to prepare an estimate for cleaning it.?He also interacted with the youths undergoing training there and inquired about the facilities being provided to them.