The Centre comes up with big-ticket infrastructure projects, but they cannot materialise unless the state government is ready to provide all necessary support including land acquisition. Take the case of a second airport at Kolkata too. Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia says that the Centre was interested in such a project, but it got stuck due to a lack of cooperation from the West Bengal government.
Jyotiraditya Scindia asks Mamata Banerjee to extend a helping hand
Scindia said that the Centre was waiting for important clearances from the West Bengal government and made an appeal to CM Mamata Banerjee to extend a helping hand.
The Union Minister said, “In any country, civil aviation has become the root of development. We have big plans for the civil aviation industry in West Bengal. But I want to say on record that we want to set up a new airport in Kolkata. The existing airport in the city is running at maximum capacity. For so many years, we have been sending proposals to the state government for a new site (to set up a new airport). But the state government so far has not taken any concrete step in this regard. How will the Airports Authority of India (AAI) set up an airport if land is not given?”
Scindia alleges no response from the state government for any kind of clearance
The Union Minister also said, “We absolutely feel that a new airport must be set up in Kolkata which should be of 2 lakh square metre. The existing airport has the capacity to handle 8,600 peak passenger traffic per day. We feel that the new airport terminal should have the capacity to handle 10,000 to 11,000 peak passenger traffic per day. But it will only be possible when the state government will cooperate with us and work together. Be it Bagdogra Airport or any other project at Hasimara Air Force Station or Kalaikunda Air Force Station, we get no response from the state government for any kind of clearance. I would appeal to the chief minister of the state to extend her helping hand to implement these development projects.”
Taking a dig at the West Bengal CM, Scindia added, “…As far as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is concerned, who has called this a ‘zero budget’, I have already said that investment worth more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been provided to the state for next three years. Now, she must count how many zeros there are in that amount.”
No forcible land acquisition for the second airport at Kolkata, says Mamata Banerjee
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Chief Minister has said, “We are not going to forcibly acquire 1,000 acres for setting up the airport. It would mean razing a row of buildings and evicting settlements.”
Responding to Scindia’s remarks, CM Mamata Banerjee added, “We have arranged for a third runway at Kolkata airport. We have set up an airport at Andal. The airports in the districts are also in place. Let them arrange for more flights there.”
The second Kolkata airport was originally proposed around 30 km from the city. The West Bengal government had even conducted a survey, after which Bhangar in South 24 Parganas, adjacent to Rajarhat, was chosen as a possible location for the project.
But the issue is that Bhangar has undergone rapid urbanization and large-scale displacement would be needed to acquire land there. The government also faced stiff resistance from the locals in 2017 when giving the right of way to the Bhangar power grid project.
Now, it seems that a second Kolkata airport terminal may not see the light of day because of political issues and the reticence of the state government to acquire land and give the necessary clearances.
This is hardly the first time that infrastructure development has taken a hit due to the politicization of land acquisition. In 2015, the Modi government had tried to change the land acquisition law in the country because the 2013 land acquisition legislation made the process of acquiring land for development projects a tedious task. However, the opposition coalesced in the Parliament and effectively vetoed the government’s plans to simplify the country’s land acquisition laws.
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The second Kolkata airport also seems to be going down the same road, with the same old story of a big-ticket infrastructure project getting sacrificed for political reasons.