Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on August 26 wrote to chief ministers of five more states – Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh – seeking personal intervention in matters related to land allocation and funding to boost aviation infrastructure, the central government said in a press release.
In his letters dated August 26, the civil aviation minister asked the chief ministers of Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat to deposit Rs 7.55 crore, Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 47 lakh, respectively, with the Regional Air Connectivity Fund Trust.
Furthermore, Scindia has asked these five states to expedite land acquisition to the Airports Authority of India to ensure expansion can start at airports in respective states.
In a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Scindia said that a total of around 3,480.35 acres of land is required around six airports in the state to carry out various greenfield and brownfield expansions at those airports.
Similarly in a letter to Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, the minister requested to extend support for removal of obstacles and provide requisite land for making Shimla airport compatible for the operation of ATR-72 type of aircraft.
Scindia asked Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, Chief Minister of Karnataka, to aid AAI in land acquisition around Belagavi and Mysore airports. He also asked the state government to take necessary steps to operationalise Shivamoga and Vijayapura airports so that the bids received under the central government's regional connectivity scheme UDAN can be considered.
Similarly, the minister asked the chief ministers of Goa and Jharkhand to help the AAI with land acquisition around Ranchi, Dhalbhumgarh, Deoghar, and Goa airports.
Scindia had on August 25 written letters to the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Chhattisgarh on similar lines, in a bid to boost domestic aviation in India.
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