New Delhi: A Rajasthan government proposal to expand a runway in Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s constituency Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district has raised eyebrows in the Union environment ministry.
Raje has been the MLA for Jhalrapatan since 2003, and there have been reports of an ambitious international airport project in Jhalawar.
The state government wants to increase the length of the runway at the Kolana air strip from the current 1,700 metres to 3,000 metres, to enable bigger commercial aircraft to land. For this, it has requested a diversion of 120 hectares of forest land, with the first phase of the project to be completed and the air strip opened to domestic passengers by August 2018 – just ahead of the state assembly elections.
However, the expansion is proposed on a piece of forest land that lies about 5 km from the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the environment ministry has raised a number of queries on the proposal.
The Kolana air strip currently only operates small chartered aircraft for VIP flights and sparse corporate movement. The Raje government, however, wants to develop a major terminal at the site. The existing air strip is spread across 49.99 hectares.
10/01/18 Anubhuti Vishnoi/The Print
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
Raje has been the MLA for Jhalrapatan since 2003, and there have been reports of an ambitious international airport project in Jhalawar.
The state government wants to increase the length of the runway at the Kolana air strip from the current 1,700 metres to 3,000 metres, to enable bigger commercial aircraft to land. For this, it has requested a diversion of 120 hectares of forest land, with the first phase of the project to be completed and the air strip opened to domestic passengers by August 2018 – just ahead of the state assembly elections.
However, the expansion is proposed on a piece of forest land that lies about 5 km from the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the environment ministry has raised a number of queries on the proposal.
The Kolana air strip currently only operates small chartered aircraft for VIP flights and sparse corporate movement. The Raje government, however, wants to develop a major terminal at the site. The existing air strip is spread across 49.99 hectares.
10/01/18 Anubhuti Vishnoi/The Print
0 comments:
Post a Comment