Aerotropolis gets clearance from Steering Committee

Durgapur: The Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports has given clearance to the Andal Aerotropolis and some respite to the Left Front government.
The state too began the process of land acquisition through a public notification yesterday.
The Steering Committee, meanwhile, has asked the state to initiate the acquisition process by 15 December through a gazette notification. Yesterday, the Burdwan Land Acquisition Collectorate brought out notification for 2,300 acres of land in Bhadur and Andal village (JL No: 52 & 42). Dr Subrata Gupta, MD, West Bengal Industry Development Corporation (WBIDC) said: “We believe the trouble is over and the land owners may give any objections within a month of this notification.”
The principal clearance to the project was prompted only after the Ministry of Defence issued a No Objection Certificate for the country's first Aerotropolis project beside the abandoned WW-II aerodrome in Andal. The Steering Committee, in its fourth meeting at New Delhi, resolved to give the principal clearance, the officials of the Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) ~ the principal promoter of the project said today. Mr Bhaskar Khulbe, WBIDC advisor represented the state at the Steering Committee which is headed by the secretary, ministry of civil aviation as the chairman and his counterparts in Ministry of Defence, department of Economic Affairs and Planning Commission as senior delegates.
The Steering Committee's observation stated: “No denying there was huge dissension growing at the grassroots level due to the fact that dependence on agriculture is minimal in the site selected for this project. Most land owners see the Aerotropolis-based land acquisition as a major opportunity for immediate gainful exchange of land coupled with huge employability possibilities in the near future.”
On 19 January this year, the state had signed a MOU with BAPL for the Rs 10,000 crore project. 12/12/08 The Statesman

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Categories: Airports Dec 2008, New Dec 2008