Airport projects fail to take wings in Kerala

KOCHI: Lack of a dedicated department for Civil Aviation at the state government level may affect the ambitious airport projects in the state. Finance Minister K M Mani had in his budget speech for 2012-13 proposed mini airports and airstrips in every district. But it will be difficult for the project to take off without a Civil Aviation Department at the state level, say experts. “It will be almost impossible for the state to implement the projects without a department for aviation,” says Kochi-based aviation expert Jacob Philip. “Fourteen states have Departments of Civil Aviation while in Kerala the aviationrelated matters are still handled by the different departments,” he said. Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Sikkim, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and West Bengal have civil aviation departments. At present, Fisheries, Excise and Ports Minister K Babu is the Minister incharge of airports while Principal Secretary to Department of Transport is the highest official responsible for aviation. Tom Jose, the Principal Secretary of Department of Transport in charge of airports, is now entrusted with the additional responsibilities of Kochi Metro Rail Limited as managing director. “The problem arises when the government proposes a project as it will not be able to make a unified approach to the Central Government for getting various clearances,” said Philip. “He cited the state of an airport project in Idukki. Not even a single clearance has been granted for the project, which was initiated three years back. The clearances could have been obtained if there was a unified approach on the part of the state government,” he said. K Ramalingam, managing director of Super Airports Infrastructure Limited, also says that it is better to have a civil aviation department at the state level. “Aviation is a complex matter. It involves a number of matters such as environment, safety, business and economics. However, what the state government needs is a team of experts and specialists,” said Ramalingam, who is also a former executive director of the Airports Authority of India.