New Delhi: The Government of India has granted ‘In-Principle’ approval for the establishment of 21 new Greenfield Airports across the country. These include airports in Mopa, Goa; Navi Mumbai; Shirdi and Sindhudurg, Maharashtra; Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan, and Shivamogga, Karnataka; Dabra (Gwalior), Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar), Uttar Pradesh; Dholera and Hirasar, Gujarat; Karaikal, Puducherry; Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram, and Orvakal (Kurnool), Andhra Pradesh; Durgapur, West Bengal; Pakyong, Sikkim; Kannur, Kerala; and Hollongi (Itanagar), Arunachal Pradesh.
Out of these, 11 Greenfield airports, namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, Itanagar, Mopa, and Shivamogga, have already been operationalized.
The State Government of Tamil Nadu has applied to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) seeking first stage clearance, referred to as ‘Site-Clearance’, for the development of a Greenfield airport in Parandur, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. As per the Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, the proposal has been forwarded to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and Ministry of Defence (MoD) for their comments. Following discussions with all stakeholders, the proposal will be presented to the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports for their recommendation on granting Site Clearance.
In accordance with the GFA Policy of 2008, the responsibility for implementing airport projects, including funding, land acquisition, and rehabilitation and resettlement, lies with the respective airport developer, including the State Government if they are the project proponent. The timeline for constructing airports depends on various factors, such as land acquisition, obtaining mandatory clearances, resolving obstacles, and achieving financial closure, among others, which are the responsibilities of the respective airport developers.
The above information was provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd), in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
