(a) whether the Ministry has launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN in October, 2016;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to expand civil aviation infrastructure in various parts of the country especially in Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government has received request and identified land for greenfield airport projects in the country including Maharashtra; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
Minister of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia)
(a) & (b): Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on 21-10-2016 to enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country and making air travel affordable to the masses. UDAN is a market driven and self - financing scheme. Interested airlines based on their assessment of demand on particular routes, submit their proposals at the time of bidding under UDAN. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is provided to the Selected Airline Operators (SAOs) for operation of the UDAN flights as per the provisions of the Scheme document. VGF is mobilized by imposing a levy of Rs. 5000/- on each departure of flights on trunk routes with some exemptions and the share of State Government / Union Territories is collected as per the provision of the Scheme document.;
;
(c): Under the UDAN scheme, the unserved & underserved airports/airstrips identified/awarded all over the country including in the state of Maharashtra for development and to operate RCS flights are as under:
1. Jalgaon
2. Kolhapur
3. Sholapur
4. Ozar (Nasik)
5. Nanded
6. Amravati
7. Sindhudurg
8. Ratnagiri
9. Gondia
RCS flights operation from the 06 airports namely Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Ozar (Nasik), Nanded, Gondia & Sindhudurg airports have already commenced after the readiness of these airports under UDAN. Development/Upgradation of Airports at Ratnagiri and Solapur depends upon the fulfillment of land availability, removal of obstacles, regulatory compliances, etc. Amravati Airport is being developed by the State Government.
;
(d) & (e): Government of India has accorded ''in-principle'' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar (Rajkot) in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. So far, eight Greenfield airports namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal and Kushinagar have been operationalized.
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