None of the cities or towns of Chhattisgarh figure in the proposed 14 Greenfield airports list for which 'in-principle' approval had been granted by the Centre in the country.
There are a total number of 476 airports in the country. This includes operational and non-operational airports, airstrips etc. owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Defence, State Governments, private parties etc, officials stated.
The in-principle approvals have been provided for Greenfield airport projects in Mopa in Goa (Rs3,000 cr), Navi Mumbai (Rs15,149 cr), Sindhudurg (Rs350 cr) and Shirdi (Rs320.54 cr for Phase I) in Maharashtra, Bijapur (Rs150 cr), Gulbarga (Rs13.78 cr in initial phase), Hassan (apprx. 793.95 cr in three phases) and Shimoga (Rs38.91 cr in initial phase) in Karnataka, Kannur (Rs1892 cr) in Kerala, Dabra (Rs200 cr) in Gwalior, Pakyong (Rs605.59 cr) in Sikkim, Kushinagar(Rs600.39 cr) in Uttar Pradesh, cost estimated by Airports Authority of India, as the development of the airport through Public Private Partnership (PPP) could not be realized by the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP), Karaikal (Rs280 cr) in Pudducherry and Durgapur (Rs. 700 cr) in West Bengal.
Since 2012, the Centre has received initial proposals for setting up of Greenfield airports at several places, namely, Karwar in Karnataka, Androth (Karavati dist.) in Union Territory of lakshadweep, Taj International Airport, Hirangaon in Uttar Pradesh, Dagadarthi Mendal Nellore Dist., Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District near Visakhapatnam, Tadepalligudem in West Godavari District, Oravakallu in Kurnool District and Kuppam in Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh.
As per Greenfield Airports Policy, 2008, Ministry of Defence, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI) was consulted for these proposals. The proposal of Government of Uttar Pradesh for setting up of Greenfield airport at Hirangaon was examined in consultation with the nodal agencies and M/o Defence did not recommend the project. Grant of Site clearance to these projects depends upon recommendations from M/o Defence, AAI, DGCA and the concerned State Government.
Necessary action for approval from various departments, project development, including financing of the airport project is taken by the respective airport promoter. The timeline for construction of airport projects depends upon many factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure, etc. by the individual operator.
The Centre in its bid to develop 50 airports in the country has however already included the industrial cities of Bilaspur and Raigarh in its plans for expanding aviation services in Chhattisgarh, officials stated.
Significantly, on July 24, 2013, the State government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airports Authority of India to establish an airport at Raigarh.
During the last 15 years, civil aviation services in Chhattisgarh have skyrocketed. Earlier, there were hardly any flights landing in Raipur, but as the city began to develop as capital of the State and the economic-administrative activities expedited over here, several big players of the industry began to take interest in the State.
Setting up of new industries, power houses, and increase in demand of airways for people to visit different cities of the country for business-commerce and administrative purposes, the number of flights landing in Swami Vivekanada Airport Raipur also increased. In year 2013-14, nearly 8.39 lakh have taken up their journey from this airport.
As State government realized the need to promote airways for travelling, Chief Minister Raman Singh first decided to reduce the VAT rate on aviation fuel from 25 per cent to 5 per cent.