Chidambaram assurance to landowners

Union home minister P Chidambaram on Saturday assured people whose land is to be acquired for expansion of the airport here that they need not harbour any worries as the government has accorded top priority to their rehabilitation.
    
"People whose land is to be acquired for the airport expansion need not worry, as we give importance to rehabilitation as a policy," he said, inaugurating the Rs 75-crore new integrated terminal building at the airport.
    
A total of 530 acres is to be acquired for expansion of the runway from 8,000 feet to 10,000 feet in the first phase and to 12,000 feet in the second phase.
    
Referring to the economy, he said people should compare the nine per cent economic growth achieved by the UPA government in the last five years to 5.8 per cent in the six years of BJP rule. The service sector, small and medium industries, infrastructure facility providers and farmers, who produced an additional one crore tonnes of agricultural produce, played a major role in helping achieve this, he said.
    
"When there is negative growth or poor growth in even developed countries, India was able to achieve nine per cent growth. The same growth is possible in 2009-10 if people elect the Congress again," he added.

Union minister for Communication and Information Technology A Raja said 375 Million phone connections would be given this year.
   
The chairman of Airports Authority of India, VP Agrawal who also spoke, said the airport could handle 400 passengers at a time. The total built-in area of the terminal was 11,777 square metres. The airport would have parking space for 300 cars and five buses, have a landscaped court, VIP lounges, study lounge, duty free shop and a restaurant.
  
The expansion of Madurai and Chennai airports was going on, he said.