Question : New Greenfield Airports in the Country

(a) the aims and objectives of setting up of new Greenfield Airports across the country;
(b) whether the Government has set any criteria for setting up of such airports in the country and if so, the details thereof
(c) the details of the Greenfield airports sanctioned and the work started during each of the last three years, State-wise;
(d) the name of the States which have submitted their proposals for setting up of new Greenfield Airports during each of the last three years and the current year and the action taken by the Union Government thereon;
(e) the details of the physical targets fixed and achieved so far, Greenfield Airport-wise; and
(f) whether delay in implementation of Greenfield Airport project has resulted in cost escalation and if so, the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

(a) & (b): Government of India (GoI) has formulated a Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008 which prescribes the procedure and conditions for development of a new Greenfield airport in the country. As per policy, if any developer including the State Government desires to develop an airport, they are required to identify a suitable site and get the Pre-feasibility Study conducted for construction of airport and submit a proposal to the Central Government for ''Site-Clearance'' and ''In-Prinicple'' approval . A Greenfield Airport is set up at a place where there is deficit of infrastructure available for air transport services or the existing air infrastructure for the place is constrained/saturated to meet the growing air traffic demand.

(c) & (d): During last three years, GoI has accorded "in-principle" approval for setting up of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh. ;

Further, during the last three years, proposals have been received from concerned State Governments for ''site clearance'' for establishment of Greenfield Airports at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, Kottayam and Kasargod in Kerala, Purandar in Maharashtra and Raichur in Karnataka .
As regards Mandi airport, Steering Committee has recommended site clearance subject to certain conditions which have to be fulfilled by the State Government of Himachal Pradesh. Matter of development of Greenfield Airport at Pantnagar is sub-judice. For Kottayam Airport, based on the observations of AAI and DGCA, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has been requested to submit updated Techno Economic Feasibility Study Report. As regards, Kasargod airport, the State Government has clarified that the proposed airstrip is only for non-scheduled flights and not a full fledged Greenfield Airport. In respect of Purandar airport, NOC for Site Clearance has been cancelled by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As regards site clearance for Raichur airport, the project proponent has been requested to provide additional information.
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(e): Government of India (GoI) has accorded ''In-Principle'' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country namely Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Bijapur,Hassan, Kalaburagi and Shimoga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Jewar (Noida) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. Out of these, 8 Greenfield airports viz. Durgapur Airport in West Bengal, Shirdi Airport in Maharashtra, Kannur Airport in Kerala, Pakyong Airport in Sikkim, Kalaburagi Airport in Karnataka, Kurnool Airport in Andhra Pradesh, Sindhudurg Airport in Maharashtra and Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh have become operationalized.

(f): The timeline for construction of airports depends upon various factors such as land acquisition, mandatory clearances, removal of obstacles, financial closure etc. by the respective airport developers.The responsibility of implementation of airport projects including funding of the projects rests with the concerned airport developer including the respective State Government (in case the State Government is the project proponent).
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