Opposition by greens will not ground airport plan: Chandy

By Ashraf Padanna/ThiruvananthapuramThe Kerala government has insisted it will continue to support India’s first private airport planned in the southern state’s Aranmula town, home to a large number of expatriates, against which greens are up in arms.“We will continue to support the project and do everything required provided the promoters get all the environmental issues cleared and obtain the statutory permits,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the state legislature yesterday.The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had two months ago rejected the environmental impact study by an “incompetent” professional agency on the basis of which the state’s sixth international airport project received federal clearance.Last week, the state’s principal auditor rapped both the present Congress party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government and its predecessor led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) for helping the project promoters.“My government will support the project if the promoters come up with an environment-friendly and legally valid proposal,” the chief minister said. “It is for them to get the necessary clearances. The tribunal stalled the project on purely technical grounds”.Chandy was reacting after a statement by CPI-M leader M A Baby seeking to know if recent remarks by Finance Minister K M Mani - that the government would go ahead with the project - amounted to challenging a constitutional body like the NGT and also the chief minister’s view on the auditor’s report.Chandy questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report criticising his government, including the decision to accept the company’s equity offer, stating “all necessary clearances were given by the previous government”.“It was the government in which you (Baby) were a minister which took the decision to sanction it,” Chandy said, adding the KGS Group, promoters of the Rs20bn airport, had applied for federal clearances on the basis of the previous government’s approval.Though the state government last year decided to accept the company’s 10% sweat equity offer and accommodate a government nominee on its board of directors, it is yet to formalise the deal and appoint a director.The promoters have also offered to increase the state’s stake to 26% on unspecified terms.The Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the CPI-M has since changed its position and declared support to anti-airport campaigners. It now claims the project would lead to large-scale destruction of the environment.Hindu groups also opposed the project claiming it would damage a temple adjacent to it.Responding to the claim that the airport was coming up against the will of the local community, the chief minister said: “It was the main issue in the parliamentary elections (held in April) and the people have given their verdict.”Though the LDF backed Congress rebel Peelipose Thomas on an anti-airport plank in Pathanamthitta, Congress party’s Anto Antony retained the seat with a comfortable majority. Antony also established a lead of more than 11,000 votes in the Aranmula assembly segment.Local legislator K Sivadasan Nair and Prof P J Kurien, deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, also support the project stating it would bring investments and jobs. Kurien hails from the region.The airport promoters, who are facing a legal challenge in the Kerala High Court as well, said they were planning the phase-1 launch in 2016.They are moving the Supreme Court in appeal against the NGT verdict while simultaneously assigning another agency, Engineers India Ltd (EIL), to rectify lapses in the environmental impact assessment report which will then be resubmitted.Gigi George, managing director, KGS International Airport, said he had already approached the aviation minister and the new federal administration was positive about the project and hoped the first phase would be commissioned in two years.