The financial bids for the modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports are over.
While front-runner GMR-Fraport has won the bid to modernise the Delhi Airport, the GVK-Airport South Africa will revamp the Mumbai Airport.
Though Reliance matched GMR's bid, the latter got the advantage because of its technical ranking.
Five private consortiums had bid for the contract to modernise the Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Airport employees protest
The Government may invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) in the wake of a strike call by airport employees to protest the "privatisation" of Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Sources said the option to impose ESMA was open in case the employees went on a flash strike. However, no decision has been taken as yet.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry headquarters at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, which also houses the Airports Authority of India (AAI) head office, was under a virtual siege by police and paramilitary personnel, even as hundreds of employees gathered there for a lunch-hour demonstration.
The AAI officers and employees, under the umbrella body of AAI Employees Joint Forum, have threatened to go on a flash strike if the financial bids are opened without considering the Alternative Plan for modernising the two metro airports.
They have also threatened closure of all airports on a short notice.
The bids opened at 1530 hours and a meeting of the empowered Group of Ministers is scheduled later in the evening.
The employees' proposal, submitted last year to the Prime Minister, was reviewed by the Alternate Plan Review Committee headed by AAI Member (Finance) VDV Prasada Rao and described as viable.