After AAI, forest dept backs Dhalbhumgarh airport project

After Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Jamshedpur divisional forest officer (DFO) has also forwarded the compliance report to the Jharkhand forest department on the 19-point queries raised by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFC) in regards to the proposed Dhalbhumgarh airport worth ₹300 crore, officials said on Saturday

After Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Jamshedpur divisional forest officer (DFO) has also forwarded the compliance report to the Jharkhand forest department on the 19-point queries raised by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFC) in regards to the proposed Dhalbhumgarh airport worth ₹300 crore, officials said on Saturday.

“I have forwarded the compliance report on the 19-point queries raised by the MoEFC to the forest department on documented elephant corridor ‘GAJAH’ (Ghatshila-Kakrajhor-Musabani-Chakulia-Dumaria-Kundalukaurkanjia), 5-year-old data of human-elephant conflicts, fragmentation of wildlife habitat, presence of wildlife species etc. Now higher officials will send it to the Centre for stage-1 clearance,” Saba Alam Ansari, Jamshedpur DFO, told HT on Saturday.

A delegation of Singbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) led by president Manav Kedia said the DFO had told them as much and they had written a letter to the Jharkhand chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren requesting him to expedite the process.

“We are satisfied with the efforts of the DFO and now the forest department needs to upload the report on the Parivesh portal at the earliest so that work on the airport on ground gets started. SCCI request the CM for continuous and time-bound monitoring of this process at the state-level so that no further delay hampers the stage-1 and 2 clearance at the level of MoEFC,” Kedia told HT on Saturday.

The AAI had uploaded its 19-point reply onto the Parivesh portal on July 9 along with cost benefit analysis (CBA), which estimated socio-economic benefits of ₹1,439 crore during next 50 years against ecological loss of ₹29 crore.

Officials said the DFO’s report had maintained that the project site was not a new forest area but it was an abandoned runway during the WW II period. “Hence, this is not a greenfield project but a redevelopment project of an existing aviation facility,” the report has stated.

The report has also certified that the airport site is most suitable alternative in view of the technical limitations for facilitating operation of big aircraft in the existing Sonari aerodrome in Jamshedpur.

“As for apprehension of human-elephant conflict, the GAJAH elephant corridor is 13-17 km away from the proposed site. No incident of human casualty has been reported from this area during the past five years. Even then a specific wildlife management plan has been prepared for wildlife conservation for the area, the cost of which will be borne by the AAI,” the report has highlighted.

According to the report, the AAI has proposed compensatory afforestation in 198.512 hectares against the diversion and transfer of 99.256 hectares for the project. And, land for this have been identified in Kuchikani, Bardia and Jharia area under Ghatshila forest division.

“The AAI has guaranteed direct employment for 250 persons while thousands of indirect employment opportunities will be created once the airport becomes operational. This airport will not only enhance Jamshedpur’s air connectivity but will also benefit people in West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts in Jharkhand, adjacent districts in West Bengal and Odisha too. This will bring in investment and boost industrial growth, education and health services, tourism and hospitality sectors alike,” added Kedia.