BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and his cabinet colleague Dr G Parameshwara appear to be at loggerheads over the site for the second international airport for Bengaluru.
While Shivakumar pitched a site between Bidadi and Harohalli, which is in the proximity of his hometown Kanakapura, Parameshwara appears to have doubts on this getting the approval of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Parameshwara has advocated setting up the second international airport in his home district Tumakuru, off the Bengaluru-Pune NH-40, for which he claimed to have identified two sites that he felt were feasible.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said while Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil is working on the proposal, the site has not yet been finalised. “There are two or three choices that should comply with the DGCA guidelines. We put forth our demand (for Tumakuru), and others (Shivakumar) also did it. The DCGA will look into the feasibility.,” he said.
Shivakumar, meanwhile, clarified that the government will take a final call on setting up the second international airport after the conclusion of the Global Investors Meet (GIM).
“The minister for large and medium industries is reviewing the plan. He has not discussed finalising the sites either with me or the CM. Only a preliminary meeting has been held,” he said.
It may be noted here that the Union Minister for Civil Aviation K Rammohan Naidu, while replying to former PM H D Deve Gowda in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, clarified that the Centre will take it forward if the Karnataka government sends its proposal for the second international airport.