A policy to encourage low-cost regional air connectivity to remote places across the country is likely to be tabled before the Union Cabinet soon, official sources said on Thursday.
A draft note has been prepared for circulation among the concerned ministries to enable the Cabinet take a decision on the policy, which is based on the recommendations of the Rohit Nandan Committee to connect smaller towns and cities on a low -cost basis, the sources said.
The policy, likely to be taken up by the Cabinet in the next few weeks, would involve development of regional air routes as well as destinations, about 40 of which have been identified for the first phase. These include Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Asansol-Durgapur (West Bengal), Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and Jalgaon (Maharashtra).
There are 457 functional and non-functional airports and airstrips in the country, of which 91 are managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and 125 by the armed forces.
15/02/13 The Pioneer
