Retain original expansion plan of airport: Minister

Coimbatore: Local administration minister S P Velumani has requested Union minister for civil aviation Hardeep Singh Puri to retain the original plan for expansion of the Coimbatore airport.
In a letter handed over to Puri on Thursday, Velumani said that the state government has already initiated the acquisition process for 627.89 acres as per the notification issued during 2010-11.
Rs 2,64.47 crore was allotted during 2018-19 and 2019-20, and the disbursement process to the landowners has commenced, the minister said. In this backdrop, chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) informed that AAI has reworked the land requirement to an extent of 605. 67 acres (541.89 acre for airport development and 63.78 acres for 60 metre-wide approach road) as per the revised master plan to make the airport suitable for operation of wide-bodied aircraft.
“As seen in the revised master plan, about 5.76 acres of extended area does not come under the already notified area of 627.89 acres and about 27.98 acres of land already notified for the acquisition process. It is now subtracted from the original plan of 627.89 acres,’’ Velumani said.
“If the area is revised now, the landowners might seek compensation under the New Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, resulting in additional burden on the state exchequer. This could halt the expansion process,” the minister said.
Pointing out that in addition to additional expenditure, the land acquisition under revised plan would consume more time, Velumani requested the Union minister to allow completion of airport expansion as per the original schedule.
Velumani also met Union minister for rural development and panchayati raj Narendra Singh Tomar and requested him to release Rs 2,939 crore towards the second instalment of wages, material and administrative cost under MGNREGS for the year 2019-20 and an additional Rs 609.18 crore for wages, material and administrative cost till February 10. TNN