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UP government sanctions Rs 2000 crore for Jewar airport
The Uttar Pradesh government allocated ₹2,000 crore for the Noida international airport coming up at Jewar, in its budget announced on Tuesday.
The Uttar Pradesh government allocated ₹2,000 crore for the Noida international airport coming up at Jewar, in its budget announced on Tuesday.
The allocation is crucial because the authorities supporting the project — the Yamuna Expressway industrial development authority (Yeida), the Noida and the Greater Noida authorities — are facing a financial crisis amid economic slowdown in the real estate sector. The three authorities are struggling to recover around ₹35,000 crore from over 300 builders who have failed to pay the cost of the housing and land due to dip in sale of housing units, said officials.
“The move will further give a boost to expedite this project. The allocation of funds in state budget for airport project is a positive step to ensure the project gets ample financial help,” said Arun Vir Singh chief executive officer of Noida International Airport Limited and Yeida. The airport will be coming up along the 165-km Yamuna Expressway.
The concessionaire for developing the Jewar airport, Zurich Airport international AG, and newly formed special purpose vehicle, Yamuna International Airport private limited (YIAPL), have applied for security clearance from the ministry of home affairs to get work started on the project site. Once the security clearance will be in place, the work on this project will started at the site. The ministry of environment, forest and climate change has also given its green signal for the airport project putting the project on fast-track, said officials.
In the meantime, the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration has started distributing compensation to farmers who would be dislocated for airport project. It has already handed over the possession of 1334 hectares of agricultural land to the Noida international airport limited (NIAL) that will provide the land under phase-I to concessionaire.
The district administration will rehabilitate 3,627 of the 8,971 families who will be affected with the airport project. The administration has already distributed more than ₹3,000 crore to such farmers. It will distribute another ₹700 crore for rehabilitation and resettlement of families too.
“We have started transferring compensation to farmers under rehabilitation and resettlement package for the airport project affected land owners. We have distributed ₹12 crore via transferring funds directly into 272 farmers’ accounts. The process to transfer ₹700 crore has just started,” said BN Singh district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.
Under Phase 1 of the Jewar airport project, apart from some government land, the adaministration has acquired 1,234 hectares of land in six villages—Rohi, Parohi, Ranhera, Kishorpur, Banwaribas and Dayanatpur. The phase I of airport is expected to become operational by 2022-23.
