Thursday, January 24, 2008

New runway not planned: Aviation Ministry

KANCHEEPURAM: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has said that it had only applied for clearance from the Public Investment Board (PIB) for extending the secondary runway at the Chennai airport and not for constructing a new parallel runway.

According to a copy of a reply dated January 7 by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to queries raised by the public under the Right to Information Act, the AAI seem to have never planned for constructing a new parallel runway on the northern side of the Adyar. Claiming that there were no technical and economic feasibility reports available for the construction of a parallel runway, it said no environmental impact assessment report had been prepared either. Distributing copies of the reply to the press on Thursday, Thamizh Selvan, Balesh and Sumathi of Tharapakkam said they were at a loss to comprehend why the State government was keen on acquiring 1,650 acres of land in Tharapakkam, Kolapakkam, Gerugembakkam, Kovur and Manapakkam.

The AAI had no plans of constructing a new runway . It had not yet obtained clearance from the PIB for the extension of the secondary runway.

“Such being the case, what is the need to speed up the process of land acquisition,” they wondered.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/25/stories/2008012553420300.htm

1 comment:

kumpudu said...

what's the now talk of 1650 acres?
wasn't it 1069.9acres? now with RTI clarification it must be 380 acres!
Pls clarify