PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry government is awaiting the transfer of 217 acres of land from Tamil Nadu to facilitate the expansion of Puducherry Airport, according to Public Works Department Minister K Lakshminarayanan, who is also holding the Civil aviation portfolio.
Responding to a query R B Ashok Babu(BJP), Lakshminarayanan stated that the revised airport expansion plan requires a total of 402 acres, with 217 acres in Tamil Nadu and 185 acres in Puducherry. The redesign has been approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry, citing its operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Chief Minister N Rangasamy has written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, requesting the land transfer. Following this, the Villupuram District Collector has instructed the Vanur Tahsildar to assess the land requirement and determine the Government Land Register (GLR) value. Once the assessment is completed and conveyed to the Puducherry government, necessary steps will be taken for acquisition.
Lakshminarayanan assured that funding would not be an obstacle, as the Puducherry government plans to utilize its own resources and seek additional funds from the Central government, with potential contributions from Tamil Nadu.
However, Leader of Opposition R Siva (DMK) criticized the Puducherry government for its lack of initiative, pointing out that even the 185 acres of land within Puducherry have not been acquired yet. In response, Chief Minister Rangasamy emphasized that all stakeholders support the airport expansion and suggested that Siva personally advocate for the project with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Siva countered by stating that “ Setting aside political affiliation, if Chief Minister Rangasamy meets the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and requests for the development of Puducherry, including land for Puducherry airport, our leader will definitely do it for the people of Puducherry. We will support him”, said Siva.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA PML Kalyanasundaram expressed concerns that the allocated Rs 20 crore would be insufficient for land acquisition, urging additional financial planning to ensure the project's progress.