Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju on Thursday said the aviation sector has immense potential to grow in Madhya Pradesh and lauded the initiative taken by the proactive Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to explore possibilities of launching more air services from the State.
While talking to mediapersons, Raju said that cargo terminal facility for trade in perishables could prove revolutionary for both Madhya Pradesh as well as the country.
“The Chief Minister suggested that cargo facility be launched for trade in perishables. If the State succeeds, it would become path-breaking for not only Madhya Pradesh but the whole country. However, it requires working on various aspects of backward and forward integration,” Raju said.
He further said that it is for the first time that a State Government has invited the Civil Aviation Minister and top-level officials of public as well as private carriers for interaction on possibilities of launching air services from the State.
Top players in the aviation sector, including from Air India, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Go Air, Air Asia, Emirates Airlines, Indigo, Jet, Spicejet and Pawan Hans among others were specially invited by Chouhan to the State Capital to discuss over more air services from the State, specially Bhopal.
“This is a path-breaking initiative,” the Minister said, adding his Ministry would consider all the demands raised by the State Government on the issue. The State is also taking all possible steps in this regard, specially, the lowering sale tax on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF).
He said that the State is not just demanding air connectivity on new routes specially south and international destinations, but also exclusive cargo terminal, which shows their level of understanding.
To a query, he said the scope of improvement in infrastructure is always there. “It is a continuous process,” he remarked.
Earlier, Chouhan highlighted the need of providing air connectivity, not just from prominent cities of the State to major destinations of the country but also insisted on introducing international flights for Buddhist tourists from Colombo to Bhopal via Chennai.
The Chief Minister said that the State is growing rapidly especially in agriculture sector. “The first condition of attracting investment is having air connectivity,” he said while highlighting number of places including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Khajuraho which has immense potential.
The State has also requested helicopter major, Pawan Hans to provide copter services in the state, he added.