The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu not to scale down land acquisition for Coimbatore airport expansion.
In a memorandum handed over to Mr. Prabhu in New Delhi on Thursday, Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani stated that the administrative sanction for acquisition of 627.89 acre of land was granted in April last year and the process had reached final stage.
In the meantime, Airports Authority of India had on December 11 made a request to reduce the area to be acquired to 365 acre without mentioning any valid reason. “If the request of the AAI is complied with, this will lead to confusion,” he said.
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The land owners have been demanding quashing of the notification. They have also sought to increase the compensation amount and besides urging the government to acquire lands to the tune of 1,566 acre which was the initial proposal.
“Further reductions from 627.89 acre to 365 acre will create confusion among the willing and non-willing land owners,” the Minister said. This would create a wrong impression among the industrialists and entrepreneurs of Coimbatore and adjoining districts and affect the overall growth and industrial climate of the region, he said.