CAD seeks clarity on affected population for Bihta airport land acquisition

The civil aviation department has returned a land acquisition proposal for Bihta airport, seeking clarity on affected populations and sensitive issues like a graveyard.

The civil aviation department (CAD) has returned a proposal from the Patna district administration seeking acquisition of about 191 acres of additional land for extending the runway at Bihta airport, asking officials to clearly spell out the human settlements and population likely to be affected, top officials said on Sunday.

CAD seeks clarity on affected population for Bihta airport land acquisition

The CAD response follows a proposal submitted by the district administration on December 7 last year, which identified approximately 191 acres of land on either side of the existing runway at Bihta for acquisition.

“We have returned the proposal, asking the district administration to specify the human settlements and population that will be impacted by the land acquisition,” a CAD officer said. “Before placing the proposal to senior officers and routing it to the cabinet for approval, it is essential to have clarity on habitation and settlements. In its present form, the proposal is incomplete.”

Officials also flagged another sensitive issue — a graveyard falling within the proposed acquisition area. The district administration’s plan includes the graveyard as part of the land required for runway extension, people familiar with the matter said.

“The acquisition of a graveyard and provision of an equitable alternative burial site is a delicate issue and must be handled with utmost sensitivity, after taking the local community into confidence,” one of the persons cited above said.

Efforts to contact Patna district magistrate Thiyagarajan SM for comments were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls or text messages on Sunday and earlier last Thursday.

Bihta, a defence airbase located about 33 kms from Patna’s Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, is expected to begin commercial flight operations next year. In 2019, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had projected the need for around 191.5 acres of additional land to extend the runway from about 8,200 feet to 12,000 feet and to install approach lighting. The expansion would allow operations of wide-bodied aircraft, including cargo planes, and enable flights during low visibility conditions in winter.

Both the state government and the AAI are keen on developing Bihta as a full-fledged international airport. The state cabinet had earlier given in-principle approval for additional land acquisition. So far, the state government has transferred 108 acres to the AAI for development of a civil enclave at Bihta.

The AAI is expected to invest around ₹1,200 crore to develop Bihta for commercial operations, in addition to the existing Patna airport. The terminal at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport was revamped for about ₹1,200 crore in May last year, boosting peak-hour handling capacity to over 3,000 passengers and annual capacity to around 10 million, up from about 2.5 million earlier.