The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the state high court against the Airport Authority of India (AAI) handing over the operation and management of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to the Adani Group, which on Monday won the rights under the competitive bidding route.
The move comes even as the civil aviation ministry is set to hand over the letters of award with regard to five non-metro airports, including the one in Thiruvananthapuram, to Adani Enterprises on Thursday.
The transfer of the airport, the state government is learnt to have alleged in its plea, is in violation of an agreement it had signed with the Centre. According to the Kerala government, the agreement makes it obligatory on the Centre to treat some Rs 324 crore the former spent in 2015 to acquire land parcels for the development of the airport, as the state’s equity in the venture.
The proposed transfer of the development and management rights to the private company, the state fears, would impinge on its equity interests.
Adani Enterprises, the flagship entity of the Adani group, had bagged five of the six airports offered by AAI to potential developers under a 50-year lease contracts by placing aggressive bids. While Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mangalore are the other airports that went to its kitty, the Kerala government (through KSIDC) was the second-highest bidder for the Thiruvananthapuram airport as it offered a per-passenger fee of Rs 135 against Adani’s winning bid of Rs 168.
Besides the state government, an action council protesting airport privatisation is also getting ready to approach the court on transfer of the airport to the Adani Group.
28/02/19 M Sarita Varma/Financial Express
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The move comes even as the civil aviation ministry is set to hand over the letters of award with regard to five non-metro airports, including the one in Thiruvananthapuram, to Adani Enterprises on Thursday.
The transfer of the airport, the state government is learnt to have alleged in its plea, is in violation of an agreement it had signed with the Centre. According to the Kerala government, the agreement makes it obligatory on the Centre to treat some Rs 324 crore the former spent in 2015 to acquire land parcels for the development of the airport, as the state’s equity in the venture.
The proposed transfer of the development and management rights to the private company, the state fears, would impinge on its equity interests.
Adani Enterprises, the flagship entity of the Adani group, had bagged five of the six airports offered by AAI to potential developers under a 50-year lease contracts by placing aggressive bids. While Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mangalore are the other airports that went to its kitty, the Kerala government (through KSIDC) was the second-highest bidder for the Thiruvananthapuram airport as it offered a per-passenger fee of Rs 135 against Adani’s winning bid of Rs 168.
Besides the state government, an action council protesting airport privatisation is also getting ready to approach the court on transfer of the airport to the Adani Group.
28/02/19 M Sarita Varma/Financial Express
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