E-Paper
Awaiting new proposal for Purandar airport site: Scindia
Union civil aviation and steel minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said that they are waiting for a new proposal from the government of Maharashtra for the Purandar airport site
Pune: Union civil aviation and steel minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said that they are waiting for a new proposal from the government of Maharashtra for the Purandar airport site. He also appealed to chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on air turbine fuel (ATF) which is 25% in Mumbai and Pune and only 4% in the rest of the state.
“The civil aviation ministry is not the ministry which necessarily decides which plot is selected for any airport. The plot selection process and submission has to come from the state government, after which the union civil aviation ministry can give technical inputs whether the site is right in terms of obstacles, mountainous terrain and other factors. That is where our core competence comes in. We are waiting for a new proposal from the Maharashtra government for the Purandar airport site. As soon as they give a new proposal, we will make sure that we move forward,” Scindia said while interacting with the media after the meeting at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), Pune.
After the Shinde-helmed Maharashtra government rolled back the decision of the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to move Pune’s airport from Purandar, it was decided to construct the new airport for Pune at the previously fixed site in the meeting held on August 30. While showing his ministry’s full cooperation to the development of the new airport, Scindia also said that they are waiting for the new proposal for the Purandar airport site from the Shinde-helmed state government.
Raising the issue of VAT on ATF, Scindia said, “My plea to state chief minister Shinde and deputy chief minister Fadnavis is that if Pune wants to see greater development, the first thing we have to do is to make it viable for airline companies to carry out smooth operations. Today, ATF comprises 40% of the cost structural areas and the VAT on this ATF in Maharashtra state is 25% in Mumbai and Pune while in the rest of the state, it is 4%. So, Maharashtra has to step forward for development and progress of the state and therefore, it is necessary to reduce VAT on ATF.”
“Since I took charge as minister, I have contacted the chief ministers of 24 states where VAT on this ATF was between 20% and 30% and I have written to them and pleaded with them to lower this VAT. If this is done, the impact on the economic structure of airlines will be eased and the state will get better air connectivity through which economic development will take place. Many states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and others have lowered their VAT percentage. Out of the 24 states, 16 have agreed to reduce VAT while the remaining eight states have not yet taken a decision. Maharashtra is among these eight states,” Scindia said.
“My request to all members of the MCCIA, industrialists and local politicians is to convey this message to the state government and lower the VAT on ATF as early as possible. Once this is done, every possible help to boost the aviation section in Maharashtra will be given by our ministry. The entire country is moving and if you don’t go that way, air traffic is going to move from other states. Hence, compliance is the need of the hour today,” the minister concluded.
