Though the long-pending Navi Mumbai International Airport is finally inching closer to seeing the light of the day, the Greenfield airport project in Pune, which too has been much delayed, continues to be in limbo.
"The original site was finalised in Chakan in 2008, but it was met with opposition from farmers. Then, we looked at Khed (Rajgurunagar), but this site too faced problems, with more than half the land required coming under a special economic zone," the official said. "The government has to take a call on the site... it has to go back to Chakan or look at a new site."
He added that the airport needed to come up in proximity to the Chakan-Khed-Talegaon belt where a large number of industries were located.
The present airport at Lohegaon in Pune is an Indian Air Force facility which imposes restrictions on civilian activities.
05/09/15 Dhaval Kulkarni/Daily News & Analysis
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"The original site was finalised in Chakan in 2008, but it was met with opposition from farmers. Then, we looked at Khed (Rajgurunagar), but this site too faced problems, with more than half the land required coming under a special economic zone," the official said. "The government has to take a call on the site... it has to go back to Chakan or look at a new site."
He added that the airport needed to come up in proximity to the Chakan-Khed-Talegaon belt where a large number of industries were located.
The present airport at Lohegaon in Pune is an Indian Air Force facility which imposes restrictions on civilian activities.
05/09/15 Dhaval Kulkarni/Daily News & Analysis
