‘No plan for new airport in T’puram’

Thiruvananthapuram: Quashing all reports on plan for a second airport in the district, Union ministry of civil aviation has made it clear that there is no proposal for a new airport for Thiruvananthapuram under its consideration.
It has been nearly a year since a campaign for a new airport in the district, as an entry point for passengers to Thiruvananthapuram and south Tamil Nadu, was launched. The delay in land acquisition for second phase development of Thiruvananthapuram Airport was stated as a reason for the proposal of a new airport in a less populated area.

The stand of the Union ministry was conveyed to Shashi Tharoor MP by Jayant Sinha, minister for state for civil aviation, in Lok Sabha.

Shashi Tharoor had asked whether there was a proposal to create a new airport by establishing a new site at Parassala and its feasibility assessments. He also asked for the details related to the amount and acquisition of required land, allocation of funds to be utilized and time frame of completion.

In his reply, Jayant Sinha stated that ministry of civil aviation has not received any proposal for development of a new airport at Parassala as per Greenfield Airport Policy.

Also, the query on whether any comprehensive review has been initiated by the ministry regarding the displacement of people for land acquisition and consequences of establishing an off-city airport, received a negative response.

Tharoor tweeted that the government has put to rest rumours of a new greenfield airport for Thiruvananthapuram. “Let’s make the one we’ve got better!,” tweeted Tharoor, after sharing a picture of the reply from the civil aviation ministry.

A collective of airport users had identified three locations for the airport and even conducted a discussion with the state government about the proposal. Parassala, Navaikulam and Nedumangad were three locations identified by the group.

“There is not enough space available for development of an airport in city area. On the other hand 1,000 to 1,500 acres are available in the suburban parts of the district for constructing an airport. A less populated area in Nedumangad was found suitable for the project and it was suggested to airport authority. The proposal is yet to be evaluated by the airport authority officials. We are waiting for their response regarding the feasibility of the project,” said S N Raghuchandran Nair, chairman of airport users’ consultative committee.