Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that his government is committed to acquire the land sought by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the further development of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode international airports.
‘There is opposition against the move to acquire the land and the government is determined to go ahead with the land acquisition for the further development of the airports,” the Chief Minister said in reply to a question by K. Muraleedharan.
The AAI is putting pressure on the government to expedite the land acquisition and hand over the land to them. The facilities in the two airports had not gone up commensurate to the increase in traffic and air traffic movements, he said.
The Chief Minister said people’s representatives should create awareness among the local people to part with the land for the development of the airport.
“Responsible people participated in the stir and opposed the move initiated by the District Collector to acquire the land in Thiruvananthapuram. The government is not ready to abandon the land acquisition. Legal steps are before us. But, the government wants to acquire the land through consensus and avoiding tension,’ he said.
The Chief Minister said the government is positive towards the laying of the Thalaserry-Mysuru railway line. The Karnataka government is also positive for the new rail line, he added.
In reply to another query, the Chief Minister informed the House that the government has not initiated any step for the proposed High Speed Rail Corridor from the north to the south of the State.
The land acquisition for the four-laning of the National Highway is to be expedited and is to be completed in a time-bound manner, he told the House. Changes will be made in the compensation package if needed, the Chief Minister said.
