The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has accused the Army of illegally occupying its airport at Jhansi “without any legal back-up or documentary evidence” of the Army’s claim that it is a defence airport acquired from the UP government. This was one of the several issues raised with the armed forces by civil aviation authorities at a meeting at the civil aviation ministry on Friday. The AAI has contested the Army’s claim and has maintained that the Jhansi airport belongs to AAI. Its view was mentioned in a civil aviation note prepared for Friday’s meeting.
The dispute over land between AAI and the Army extends to some other airports as well. While Army sources said they would respond soon to the stand taken by AAI, a defence source maintained that there was no illegal occupation of any airport land by the Army.
AAI is also upset that the Army has not yet vacated 18 acres of land at the “critical” Jammu airport which is urgently required by AAI for extending the length of the runway by 1,300 feet towards the Tawi river. Since this is an issue that involves aviation safety, AAI has mentioned that this land is “critical to extension of the runway”.
The Jammu airport is listed as a “critical” airport by the DGCA and a detailed inspection was conducted there after the Mangalore crash. According to civil aviation authorities, the issue of the Army vacating these 18 acres has been dragging on for 10 years since the Army has not yet received alternate land of equivalent value from the Jammu and Kashmir government.
AAI is miffed for other reasons as well. Civil aviation authorities have contended that after a meeting at the Cabinet Secretariat on August 20, the Army was directed to vacate three acres of land crucial for modernisation of the Chennai airport but has lamented that the “Army has not yet taken over a newly-constructed compensatory structure”.
At Bilaspur airport in Chhattisgarh, civil aviation authorities have mentioned that the Army wants use of the entire Bilaspur airport while AAI has made a “conditional offer” of parting with 377 acres while retaining 56 acres for a civil enclave.
AAI has also maintained that the “Navy has refused” to part with about four acres of land needed at Goa airport for “extension to the civil apron for ground support requirements”.