Hopes on the proposed airport at Jakranpalli are up again with officials from Airports Authority of India (AAI) visiting the site for survey near the Jakranpally mandal headquarters in the last two days. The four-member team from New Delhi, accompanied by the Revenue officials, inspected the site spread over 1,200 acres.
The conditions they set for undertaking airport construction, however, created a doubt over their permission for the airport.
The four-member team which thoroughly surveyed the site for two days, said that for the mini-airport construction, 1,500 acre land would be required, but the proposed site was spread over 1,200 acres. In the available site, only a run way could be constructed. For constructing an airport, land measuring 1.5 km x 4 km would be required, they said.
The AAI officials expressed satisfaction at the location of the place as it was flat and not surrounded by hills or high places.
Airport for the district was sanctioned when Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy during his first term as Chief Minister. Immediately, local leaders and officials informed the government that the required site was available at Jakranpally located on the NH-44, some 30 km away from the district headquarters town.
The proposal was kept in abeyance all these years. Revenue Divisional Officer G. Hanmanth Reddy who liaisoned with the AAI officials, told them that the required documents would be kept ready and handed over to them when they would come to meet the Collector.
Speaking to reporters, the AAI Executive Director D.P. Singh said that in response to the Central government’s suggestion, the Green Field Airports was making efforts to build as many as 69 low-cost airports in the country.
Cost of construction
The cost of construction would completely be borne by the State governments. However, they could involve private persons and corporates, he said adding that the onus of land acquisition would also be on the State government.
Another hurdle in the construction of airport at Jakranpally is that only 1,200 acres of government land is available at the place and an additional 300 acres needs to be acquired from farmers who are not ready to relinquish their fields.
However, farmers kept silent when Mr. Hanmanth Reddy convinced them.
