By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
The KGS Group, promoters of India’s first private-sector international airport proposed in Kerala, has welcomed the federal government’s decision to expedite the project.
The federal ministry of environment and forests yesterday gave the green signal to the KGS Aranmula International Airport in Pathanamthitta district, home to a large number of expatriates, along with 13 other new airports in India.
The decision came after strict scrutiny by a team of experts who found no violations with the project, reports said.
The project had been hanging fire due to resistance from opposition politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, environmental activists and religious extremists. They approached the courts claiming the project would lead to the destruction of the environment and desecrate a nearby temple.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had last year set aside the central government’s environmental clearance for project and directed the promoters to stop construction work at the site.
The group had then been asked to conduct a fresh study to exclude ecologically sensitive areas before being allowed to build the airport, which has the strong backing of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s government.
“The federal government has included this among the 14 airport projects to be started this year,” the group said in a statement here. “We have entrusted SGS India, a highly reputed firm, to conduct a fresh study as directed by the court”.
The new airports include the Kannur International Airport in northern Kerala, where the first aircraft is expected to land in December.
Aranmula is the fifth international airport in the state.
The airport will come up on 500 acres in its possession and the promoters will initially invest Rs5bn. The state government has informed the ministry that it has 10% stake in the airport company and a government nominee will also serve on its board of directors.
The project had also figured in the president’s customary address last year and the federal government’s economic survey this year. The federal aviation ministry also informed the court that it wanted the project.
The opponents, mainly fringe religious groups and their political outfits, allege that the project would lead to large-scale destruction of environment and defile the nearby Hindu temple.
Yet others claimed that the state did not need a fifth airport.
The opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had given the promoters approval to approach federal agencies for mandatory clearance while in power, also turned opponents after losing authority.
The airport’s supporters, including the local MP and MLA, argue that the sites of the corporate airport in Kochi and the upcoming one at Kannur were also ecologically fragile but no objections had been raised.
It is feared that the new airport will wean away a major chunk of passengers from the Kochi airport, promoted mainly by the state government and non-resident Indians, as well as the state-run Trivandrum airport.
The company has assigned the Indian arm of multinational consultants SGS, which offers inspection, verification, testing and certification services, to prepare the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
