The contentious issue of the Taj International Aviation Hub, which is proposed at Greater Noida near New Delhi, has been referred to a new Group of Ministers.
Mayawati’s pet proposal violates “150 km rule”
NEW DELHI: The contentious issue of the Taj International Aviation Hub, which is proposed at Greater Noida near New Delhi, has been referred to a new Group of Ministers.
The GoM will comprise the finance minister P Chidambaram, law minister H R Bharadwaj, minister of science and technology Kapil Sibal, and aviation minister Praful Patel.
The project is being pushed by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati.
There are two ramifications here.
First is that the Delhi International Airport Ltd, a joint venture led by the Hyderabad-based GMR group, has the first lien — or right of refusal — in case a second airport comes up within 150 km from the Delhi International Airport.
The second is that the project violates the government’s own rule, which says no new airport can come up within 150 km of an existing one.
The proposed Taj Aviation Hub is 65 km from the Delhi International Airport.
To top it, the government is already working on a greenfield airports policy, being steered by another GoM comprising finance minister P Chidambaram, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and civil aviation minister Praful Patel.
This GoM has recommended a relaxation in the 150 km criterion for deciding multiple airports at certain locations.
Sources said the greenfield airports GoM suggested that the 150-km restriction should be removed in case of existing military airports.
It said second airports can come up at these locations even within the 150 km radius; but the 150-km rule remains applicable to all other greenfield proposals.
The GoM has submitted its recommendations to the Cabinet for inclusion in the comprehensive greefield airport policy, which is expected to be announced shortly.
However, the contentious issue of allowing Mayawati’s pet project continues to be mired in difficulties.
While on the one hand, Patel has declared that multiple airports are needed to augment infrastructure throughout the country, officials in his ministry are now busy finding ways around the 150-km tangle to please “Behenji”.
b_sindhu@dnaindia.net
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