It's his first day on the job, and Mahesh Sharma, the new minister of state for civil aviation, has hit the ground running, reports CNBC-TV18's Sindhu Bhattacharya.
His first order of business has been to make a pitch for an international airport at Greater Noida -- an issue that's been debated ad nauseum for over a decade without any forward movement.
But while Sharma may be the new minister of state for Civil Aviation, but that's not the only hat he wears. He also has charge of the ministries of tourism and culture.
This explains that his first move upon taking charge at the Ministry of Civil Aviation: batting for the setting up of an international airport at Greater Noida. His arguments: the airport would cater to traffic from the Noida, Greater Nodia and adjoining areas and the airport would help in developing the entire region as an international tourist circuit.
On this issue, Sharma is clearly ready for a fight.
One of the biggest arguments against such an airport in recent times has been that this airport would adversely affect operations and revenues of the Delhi International Airport, which is being operated by a consortia led by GMR.
But Aharma's answer to this is along the lines of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". Or in his words: Delhi's population growth far exceeds the city's infrastructure.
Be that as it may, there's no denying that Sharma is looking at multiple battles on this matter.
First, the greenfield airport policy, which governs the process of setting up new airports, specifically says that any new airport within 150 kilometres of an existing one needs approval of a steering committee set up by the ministry.
The proposed airport in Greater Noida will breach this condition vis-a-vis the Delhi airport.
Second: political pushback. The proposed airport has been a pet project of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati. So present chief minister Akhilesh Yadav may not play ball -- especially when you consider that the SP government has been pushing for an airport at Agra.
But Sharma is clear: he says 2,378 acres of land has already been acquired for the purpose of building an airport at Greater Noida, And that a lot more land is available at the site, if needed.
The minister also says he will talk to all concerned ministers and then take up this issue with the prime minister. So while it's early days yet, the new minister gets 100 points for enthusiasm, and 10 for ambition.
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