Tiruchi MP Durai Vaiko (right) holding a discussion on land acquisition for the Tiruchi airport with Collector M. Pradeep Kumar and other officials in Tiruchi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Tiruchi Member of Parliament Durai Vaiko on Monday said that the district officials had assured him that the process of land acquisition for the expansion of the Tiruchi International Airport would be completed within the next couple of months.
While the Defence Ministry has given in principle approval for transferring 166.97 acres for the project, the State government was in the process of acquiring another 345.62 acres, including wetlands.
“A team of Defence officials are expected to visit Tiruchi on Tuesday for conducting a survey of their land as part of the transfer process ,in exchange for land of equal value. As to the land acquisition being carried out by the State government, the district authorities informed me that only 5% of the process remains to be completed. They assured me that the process will be over within the next couple of months,” Mr.Vaiko told The Hindu after holding a discussion with Collector M. Pradeep Kumar, District Revenue Officer R. Rajalakshmi and Airport Director G. Gopalakrishnan here on Tuesday.
“This is the second meeting I have held with the district officials on the issue in an attempt to give a push to the airport development,” Mr.Vaiko said.
After the first phase of extension of the runway from 6,000 to about 8,000 feet, carried out over a decade ago, the Airports Authority of India in 2010-11 had drawn up plans to expand it further to 12,000 feet in phases to facilitate operation of bigger and wide-bodied aircraft.
The AAI had then submitted a request to the government seeking about 510 acres, which included the defence land too. The land acquisition plan has been dragging on for more than a decade.
Mr. Vaiko also disclosed that he had requested the airport officials to prominently display the fares for taxi rides to various destinations from the airport in the wake of reports of passengers being fleeced by some taxi operators.
The bus services launched on Monday to the airport from various destinations would also be helpful. The TNSTC officials have assured based on the response the frequency of the services will be increased, he said and added that he had requested the officials to consider operating shuttle services.
Mr.Vaiko said he had urged the airport officials to designate ‘drop points’ for autorickshaws closer to the new terminal for the benefit of passengers.
