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IAF gives nod to acquire land to expand Darbhanga airport
DARBHANGA The Indian Air Force (IAF) has given its nod for acquisition of 78 acres of land for expansion and development of the civil enclave at Darbhanga airport, which began operating civilian flights from the IAF station runway on November 8 last year as part of Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN
DARBHANGA
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has given its nod for acquisition of 78 acres of land for expansion and development of the civil enclave at Darbhanga airport, which began operating civilian flights from the IAF station runway on November 8 last year as part of Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN.
Darbhanga district magistrate Thiyagrajan SM confirmed the receipt of letter from IAF authorities and said that the land parcel was already identified and a proposal sent to the state government on Wednesday for approval. “The land acquisition process will begin once approval from state government is obtained,” he said.
The land acquisition has been hanging fire ever since Darbhanga airport was included in UDAN ( Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme in January 2018.
Since November 8 last year, when SpiceJet launched its flight service from Darbhanga, the airport has witnessed a huge footfall of passengers, even surpassing bigger airports.
Earlier, the state government had sanctioned ₹121 crore on September 2, 2019, for acquisition of 31 acres of land to facilitate construction of a permanent civil enclave at Darbhanga airport.
However, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) later revised the proposal, seeking 78 acres in view of operational success and potential of Darbhanga airport, officials familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, Bihar’s minister of water resources Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is from Darbhanga region, tweeted, “We are glad IAF has granted NoC for expansion of Darbhanga airport. The state government will soon acquire necessary land so that terminal building and necessary facilities can be constructed here.”
Darbhanga MP Gopal Jee Thakur, in a press statement, said an estimate (proposal) of about ₹336 crore has been given for the acquisition of 78 acres of land meant for Darbhanga airport. “With the development of facilities for passengers, eight crore population of Mitthila will get access to easy and convenient air travel.
