Acquisition of land for Gaya airport runway expansion delayed

Gaya: The delay in the acquisition of about 100 acres of land for the expansion of the runway to enable the landing of A310 type of planes of the 757 series having a passenger capacity of 250 has hit the much-delayed project to expand the Gaya Airport runway.
The runway expansion has become all the more necessary after the Mangalore crash. For nearly a decade, the execution of the runway expansion project was held up following a stand-off between the Bihar government and the Airports Authority of India on the issue of the footage of the Land Acquisition Bill. The previous RJD government wanted the land price to be paid by the AAI while the AAI demanded free land as has been given by several states including Tamil Nadu. The NDA, then in opposition, had cursed the RJD government no end for demanding price for the land.
Ironically, when it came to power, the Nitish Kumar government, too, started singing the same price tune as was being done by its predecessor. In the meantime, the price of the 100 acres of land required for runway expansion went up from Rs 5 crore to nearly Rs 13 crore including the cost of the relocation of the high tension electric wires passing through the area. Though both the Bihar government officials and the AAI are now silent on the issue of land price, sources say that an understanding has been reached between the two to share the land price on a 50:50 basis.
10/06/10 Abdul Qadir/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jun 2010, New Jun 2010