Has Rajasthan pipped Uttar Pradesh for second NCR airport?

Rajasthan seems to have pipped Uttar Pradesh for the proposed second airport in Delhi NCR region, at least in terms of getting a site clearance. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told Lok Sabha today that the government had received a proposal for setting up of a greenfield airport at Kotkasim Tehsil in Alwar district, Rajasthan by the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd. The steering committee on greenfield airports has recommended to the ministry that site clearance be provided for this project.

Why does Rajasthan’s proposal assume significance? Sharma himself has indicated many times that the second airport in the NCR region could come up at Zevar in Greater Noida so that its location suits flyers coming from Meerut, Alwar etc. The Delhi International Airport is already in Gurgaon, Haryana. But the Zevar proposal has been mired in a deep Centre-State political tug of war. So for now, Rajasthan has pipped Uttar Pradesh to get past the first hurdle for a second airport.

Zevar does not only face political uncertainty, there are other issues involved as well. Any airport within 150 km radius of an existing one needs separate approval as per the Greenfield Airport policy. An airport at Zevar would violate this 150 km radius limit vis-a-vis the IGI Airport at Gurgaon. Sharma had said earlier that the consortium lead by GMR, which operates IGI, would be allowed Right of First Refusal for any second airport project in NCR as per the concession agreement between the government and the consortium.

The very idea of approving any proposal for a second airport in the NCR region has seen its share of controversies. Sharma has been asserting that the ministry took a decision in July to set up a second airport in the national capital region after a high profile, intra-ministerial meeting.

“The decision was taken at a meeting, held on June 26, which was attended by senior officials, Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman, Air India chairman and Civil Aviation Secretary, among others,” he had said. But his senior, Cabinet Minister A Gajapathi Raju denied any knowledge of a decision on second airport in NCR within the ministry.

Anyhow, now the ministry is in the process of writing to state governments of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi about land availability and whether any of them is interested in setting up an international airport. In his answer in Lok Sabha today, minister Sharma also said Haryana too had sought clearance from the ministry of civil aviation, but only for a cargo airport. The state’s proposal was returned and it was advised to revert with an improved proposal for setting up a full fledged commercial airport.