Airport city hits turbulence

Kolkata: After Singur and Nandigram, land acquisition for the Rs 10,000-crore Aerotropolis project in Andal, near Durgapur, seems headed for turbulence. The 3,500-acre site, on which the airport city will be built, sits on coal reserves worth over Rs 2.35 lakh crore.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) has already raised serious objections to the site, pointing out that any permanent structure there will “affect the energy security of the country”.
To make things worse for the government, it is learnt that the actual land demand for the project may be well over 3,500 acres. Acquisition is to start this month-end.
If the project goes ahead, the country’s energy security won’t be the only loss, highly placed sources say. Experts estimate that the Bengal government will lose Rs 50,000 crore in cess over a span of 25-30 years — a whopping Rs 1,500 crore a year. This annual loss is the same amount the Tatas planned to invest in the Nano project in Singur and is well more than excise from Indian Made Foreign Liquor, the state’s single largest source of revenue.
Bengal now earns Rs 450 crore a year in coal cess, the second largest component of revenue after excise. CIL’s objection comes at a time when the state is planning the first phase of acquisition. WBIDC MD Subrata Gupta told TOI that they will start acquiring 2,300 acres soon after Kali Puja.
05/10/08 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008, New Oct 2008