M’rashtra keen on operating abandoned WW-II airstrip

Mumbai, December 14

Advertisement

The Maharashtra Government wants an abandoned airstrip on the outskirts of Mumbai to be made operational for regional flights under the Centre’s UDAN scheme, sources said here.

The airstrip was constructed by the erstwhile British government during the World War II and was abandoned soon afterwards. Though the Kalyan airstrip belongs to the Navy, parts of it are still being used for agricultural purposes by families from whom the land was originally acquired.

“We will have to rehabilitate more than 3,000 families in nine villages under which the airstrip falls,” a government official said. Earlier this year, scores of villagers ran riot amid rumours that officials had arrived to clear the land for a proposed airport.

Several smaller airlines which have applied to operate regional aircraft under the UDAN scheme have reportedly suggested that the Kalyan airstrip be made available to them. Officials from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had surveyed the area and the state government was asked to consider parting with land owned by it to set up passenger facilities. Under the UDAN scheme, the Centre provides viability gap funding to airlines which operate flights linking small airports. Since the Kalyan airstrip cannot accommodate bigger aircraft, it is suggested that smaller ATR aircraft deployed on regional routes could land and take off from here.