Now, onus on state to get in-principle nod

Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the site clearance given for the greenfield airport at Sabarimala, “is a great news for tourism and especially spiritual tourism”. Modi tweeted this while quoting the the civil aviation ministry’s tweet on getting clearance for the airport.
While giving the clearance to the applicant which is Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the ministry of civil aviation has said, “You are requested to proceed with preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for seeking grant of ‘In-Principle’ approval from the ministry for further necessary action.”
The state will have to submit the application along with the DPR for the second stage approval, i.e. the ‘in-principle’ approval for consideration of the steering committee on greenfield airports within two years of the issuance of the site clearance certificate.
The Union ministry had made it clear that if the in-principle approval is not granted to the project within two years or the project found to be in deviation from original proposal, this certificate shall be deemed null and void. Then it will be the responsibility of the state to obtain fresh site clearance for the proposal.
The state will have to obtain the security clearance of the proposed airport from the ministry of home affairs prior to the in-principle approval stage. The project will also require environment clearance prior to commencement of works.
The greenfield airport project is proposed to be developed on 2,250 acres in Erumeli and Manimala, and the KSIDC intends to undertake the project in a public-private partnership (PPP) model at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. With the site clearance, the KSIDC will be able to proceed with the land acquisition for the project.
While giving the clearance, the ministry has said, “the promoter shall be required to complete the necessary formalities with all the regulatory and government agencies. No objection from other government organizations and agencies concerned has to be obtained as per requirement.”