Bengal bats for Aerotropolis

Durgapur: The state industry department has come to the rescue of the country’s first Aerotropolis project at Andal near Durgapur. The state government has put in a word in favour of the project before the Centre’s civil aviation ministry after the Coal India Limited had raised objection fearing loss of a huge coal reserve at the project site.
The state government took up the matter after Dr Partha Sarathi Bhattacharya, chairman, Coal India Limited, sought the state government's opinion regarding the project that is to come up on the area where CIL has an underground leasehold for coal extraction.
According to CIL, at least 2,300 million tons of B and D grade high quality coal reserves are lying underneath the project site. Mr Bhattacharya also made it clear that neither the civil aviation ministry nor the state government had ever felt the need to discuss the matter with the coal major. Meanwhile, the state government issued a notification for the project to help land acquisition.
On 29 September, the state government reviewed the matter with Coal India, Eastern Coalfields Limited, Central Mines Planning & Designing Institute (CMP and Geological Survey of India wherein the state government said that the area earmarked for the project is outside the present leasehold area of ECL.)
Mr Bhattacharya, chairman, CIL said that the company has let the state as well as to the ministry of civil aviation know about its views in this regard and now it was up to the state to do the needful.
05/10/08 Kanchan Siddiqui/The Statesman

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Oct 2008, New Oct 2008