Times of India
TNN |
December 4, 2015,
ITANAGAR: Continuing his efforts to address the communication bottlenecks, particularly in air connectivity, Arunachal Pradesh governor JP Rajkhowa has approached Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati for a minimum of 3 to 4 airports to cover most districts of the state.
In a letter to the Union minister last month, the governor impressed upon him that the state being the largest among the eight NE states with difficult mountainous terrains and poor roads, more airports are needed to overcome the communication bottlenecks.
Rajkhowa, in his letter, said Arunachal is a very strategic frontier state having international borders with Bhutan, China and Myanmar, a Raj Bhawan communique said.
The governor said the state, with 83,743 sqkm of land area, should have a minimum of three to four airports to cover most districts. He pointed out that Assam, which has a geographical area of about 79,000 sqkm, has 6 airports.
Requesting the Union minister to consider setting up additional airports in addition to the already sanctioned Greenfield airport for the state, the governor called for constituting a high-power expert
site selection committee in consultation with the state government. “This will instill confidence in the people of Arunachal Pradesh about the sincerity and confidence of the Centre to fasttrack development of the underdeveloped state for benefiting the people and the nation,” the governor wrote in his letter.
Reiterating his stand on the sanctioned Greenfield airport for the state, the governor clarified that based on suggestions from many quarters regarding alleged malpractices in the land acquisition at the
behest of some powerful political leaders, he had suggested a thorough scrutiny of all documents of land owners covered under the acquisition process by the CBI or other central agencies.
Rajkhowa empathetically said he had not recommended scrapping of the Greenfield airport for the state or for abandoning the Hollongi site.
