THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Now, with the Narendra Modi Government being voted back to power for a second straight term, a final decision on the six major airports up fpr grabs across the country, is expected in a matter of days.
Though Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) promoted by the Adani Group won the bid for the airports, including the Trivandrum Airport, the Letter of Approval (LoA) was not issued to the operator since the model code had kicked in on account of the Lok Sabha polls. The cabinet nod is required to hand over the LoA to the operator. Though six cases were filed before the Kerala High Court against the Centre’s decision to privatise the Trivandrum Airport, a rollback of the proposed move seems highly unlikely given the brutal majority secured by the Modi Government.
Though the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF Government and Digvijay Singh Government in Rajasthan vowed not to allow Adani to take over the airports, Government of Kerala’s decision to participate in the bidding process has arguably weakened its position. This is despite the LDF Government moving the High Court against the privatisation move.
S Ajith Kumar, secretary, Trivandrum Airport Authority Employees’ Union- which has been staging an indefinite sit-in protest before the airport for the last six months - told Express,“We were pinning our hopes on the LS poll outcome. Now, the courts are our only hope and we have reposed our faith in the judiciary as the bidding process was plagued by violations,” he said.
Airport Authority of India(AAI) sources said the Centre had passed the buck to the AAI for the decision to privatise the six airports while refusing to shoulder responsibility for the same. Following this, AAI authorities had insisted the Union Cabinet’s nod is mandatory for issuing the LoA to avoid a possible loss of face in case the decision is challenged in the court. According to them, the new Cabinet is expected to assume charge on May 30 and the LoA will be handed over to the concessionaire without any delay. The privatisation move has witnessed a marked shift from the past. Mainly, it was a tailor-made RFP (request for proposal) suiting Adani’s requirements.
In the case of revenue sharing model, the winning bid was decided on the basis of the highest monthly per passenger fee that will be paid by the concessionaire to the AAI during the entire concession period of 50 years.
This was a major departure when compared to the earlier process undertaken for privatising New Delhi IGI Airport and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai.