Municipal Administration and Minority Affairs Minister Qamarul Islam has said the work on the remaining portion of the Kalaburagi Airport will be handed over to the Public Works Department.
Final decision
A final decision would be taken in the next cabinet meeting, he said.
He told The Hindu that there has been an inordinate delay in completing the work after a go-ahead from the Karnataka High Court in January.
The Airport Authorities of India (AAI) too hasn’t been showing any interest in the matter.
Mr. Islam said the AAI had taken a stand that it was the responsibility of the State government to construct the airport infrastructure according to AAI specifications and hand over the same to the AAI for operating air services. Mr. Islam said he had requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hand over the construction of the remaining portion of the airport to the Public Works Department.
Mr. Qamarul, who is also the Chairman of the HKRDB, said the HKRDB had taken up the work of constructing the link roads to the proposed airport and has earmarked Rs. 34 crore as its share for completing the pending work.
He reiterated that the Kalaburagi Airport would be ready within one year as announced earlier.
‘AAI has taken a stand that it is the responsibility of the State govt. to construct the airport infrastructure’