New Delhi: The Centre’s focus on increasing air connectivity to the Northeast continued in the Union Budget for 2018-19 presented on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The finance ministry announced an allocation of Rs 1,014.09 crore for the upcoming financial year towards revival of 50 airports and viability gap funding for improving aviation infrastructure in the area under the flagship regional connectivity scheme. This amount is nearly five times the allocation of Rs 200.11 crore as per the revised estimates of 2017-18.
“In the last three years, the domestic air passenger traffic grew at 18 per cent per annum and our airline companies placed orders for more than 900 aircraft. Regional connectivity scheme of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) initiated by the government last year shall connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country. Operations have already started at 16 such airports,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said during his Budget speech.
Around 40 per cent, or 129 of the 325 air routes awarded under the second phase of the regional connectivity scheme were for Northeastern and hill states. These include strategic airports such as Kargil in Jammu & Kashmir, Pakyong in Sikkim, and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, where civilian air connectivity will be provided for the first time. Further, the phase-II of the government’s flagship scheme has also seen routes being served by helicopters apart from fixed-wing aircraft. In fact, nearly 70 per cent, or 31 out of 56 new destinations to be connected via air transport will be served by helipads.
01/02/18 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express
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“In the last three years, the domestic air passenger traffic grew at 18 per cent per annum and our airline companies placed orders for more than 900 aircraft. Regional connectivity scheme of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) initiated by the government last year shall connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country. Operations have already started at 16 such airports,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said during his Budget speech.
Around 40 per cent, or 129 of the 325 air routes awarded under the second phase of the regional connectivity scheme were for Northeastern and hill states. These include strategic airports such as Kargil in Jammu & Kashmir, Pakyong in Sikkim, and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, where civilian air connectivity will be provided for the first time. Further, the phase-II of the government’s flagship scheme has also seen routes being served by helicopters apart from fixed-wing aircraft. In fact, nearly 70 per cent, or 31 out of 56 new destinations to be connected via air transport will be served by helipads.
01/02/18 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express
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