Report submitted, stage set for expansion of Kangra airport
Ravinder Sood
Palampur, June 16
Decks have been cleared for the expansion of the Kangra airport as a group of experts has submitted the Social Impact Assessment Report to the state government.
1,200 families likely to be displaced
- A government officer said that over 1,200 families were likely to be displaced for the expansion.
- The state government had sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore in the budget for land acquisition.
- The present airstrip length of the Kangra airport is 1,376 m, which will be extended to 3,010 m.
- As soon as the state government accepts the Social Impact Assessment Report, the land acquisition for the airport would be taken up.
Official sources revealed here today that the report was being forwarded to the Principal Secretary, Tourism, by the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, for further action. An expert group has given positive opinion for the expansion of the airport. As soon as the state government accepts the Social Impact Assessment Report, land acquisition for the airport would be taken up by the district administration.
CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is monitoring the expansion of the project, had assigned the job for the preparation of Social Impact Assessment Report to the Public Administration Institute, who got it compiled from SR Asia, a company dealing in such projects.
The experts group headed by Deputy Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation, Raja Ka Talab, was constituted in April. Besides state government officials, the pardhan of different panchayat adjoining airports were also included in the expert group. The state government will soon issue notification under section 11 of the amended provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, for acquiring the land.
