New Delhi: A high-level Environment Ministry panel has accorded green signal to the development of no-frill airports at Kishangarh in Rajasthan's Ajmer and Belgaum in Karnataka.
The Expert Appraisal Committee for Projects related to Infrastructure Development, however, did not express a lenient view towards Airport Authority of India's proposal to have a Greenfield Airport at Holongi river plain in Arunachal Pradesh, sources said.
The AAI approached the Environment Ministry to upgrade and modernise the existing Belgaum airport to facilitate operations of four flights of A-321 aircrafts per day. Currently, it handles ATR-72 aircraft only. An MoU has been signed between the state government and AAI for the modernisation of Belgaum airport. The area of the existing airport is 360.34 acres and additional land having 370 acres area has been provided for the expansion phase by the state government. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 293.35 crore.
The airport will be developed for safe operation of A-321 aircraft by development of a new runway and a terminal building to handle 200 peak hour passengers, apron, air traffic controller, runway end safety, apron, isolation bay, fire fighting equipments, rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment plant etc.
The airport is currently handling 13,778 passengers annually which is expected to increase to 92,590 by 2022-23. In case of developing a domestic airport at Rajasthan's Kishangarh, the facility, with 2,152-m-long runway will come up at a sprawling 441.7 acres of land. It is aimed at giving air connectivity to the Ajmer, famous for Pushkar fair and dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. The airport will be developed for operation of DASH-8Q 400 type of aircraft. Approximately five flights will operate in a single day.
The panel, which considered the AAI's proposal to have a Greenfield airport at Arunachal Pradesh viewed that the entire approach area of the proposed project falls in Holongi river plain.
“To the best of its knowledge, the Committee is aware that no construction is allowed in flood plain,” it noted. It also viewed that if these areas are washed away during flood, the airstrip would not be fit for operation.
