Centre okays land transfer for expansion of Darbhanga airport

In a bid to facilitate smooth flight operations under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the ministry of defence (MoD) has granted working permission to transfer a defence land measuring 2.42 acres to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the expansion of interim civil enclave at Darbhanga Airport, officials said.

DARBHANGA: In a bid to facilitate smooth flight operations under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the ministry of defence (MoD) has granted working permission to transfer a defence land measuring 2.42 acres to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the expansion of interim civil enclave at Darbhanga Airport, officials said.

The Darbhanga airport runaway. (HT Photo)

According to the MoD letter, dated December 13, the transfer of land to AAI on annual lease rent of ₹16.57 lakh, for a period of five years at Air Force Station Darbhanga, is meant for the creation of ‘bare minimum infrastructure’ to operate civil domestic flights under RCS-UDAN.

“Apart from expansion of the interim terminal building, AAI will now execute the construction of car parking, powerhouse, maintenance office, driver’s facility besides construction of road and ground support equipment (GSE) in compliance of work permission”, people aware of the development said.

Meanwhile, Darbhanga MP Gopal Jee Thakur on Sunday said that in the past he had called on defence minister Rajnath Singh on several occasions seeking an NoC for airport’s development. Thakur said that over 6.75 lakh passengers had travelled to and from Darbhanga airport in a short span since the launch of flight operation on November 8, 2020, under the UDAN scheme, a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi government to make air travel affordable and widespread in the country.

Thakur had urged the AAI chairman to take necessary measures for the requirement of 78 acres of land for construction of a permanent civil enclave even as the Bihar government had granted approval of ₹336 crore for land acquisition. Moreover, apart from naming the airport after legendary Maithili poet Mahakavi Vidyapati, completion of runway work, increasing the number of aprons, construction of shed from the main gate to interim terminal building, parking arrangement, construction of cargo complex, installation of the digital display system and raising the boundary wall keeping in view the security-related issues were also discussed during the meeting.

The MP also talked about starting the operations of other airlines from Darbhanga airport soon while putting suggestions for reviewing the current fixed fare and giving information about flight cancellation a day in advance.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with ongoing development at Darbhanga airport revealed that work at runway has been hit due to various constraints. The project in charge of AAI G K Chandana has been posted here for more than four years. Among the AAI fraternity, it is something very strange that an official involved in a project continue to be posted for such a long period beyond his tenure, quipped an official. Preferring anonymity, another official said that runway is handed over to them at 6 pm, beyond the flight hours. Hence, the time taken in the installation of the airport ground lighting system (AGLS) gets stretched for too long.