PUDUCHERRY: While awaiting the Centre's response on the provision of special funds for the expansion of Puducherry airport, on one hand, the union territory government is also considering the public-private-partnership mode, or the PPP mode, of funding the project, PWD Minister Lakshminarayanan said at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
Replying to questions from Leader of Opposition R Siva (DMK), R B Ashok Babu (BJP) and K Venkatesan (BJP), Lakshminarayanan said that Rs 425 crore is required to acquire 273 acres of land in Tamil Nadu and 20 acres in Puducherry, as per the Detailed project report (DPR) prepared by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The Puducherry government has requested the Centre to provide special financial assistance required for the acquisition scheduled on March 23, 2022, and follow it up in April, June, and July. Following this, a proposal was sent through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which included the valuation report from the district collector of Villupuram. A response from the MHA is awaited, said Lakshminarayanan.
At a high-level committee meeting organized by MHA along with Puducherry and Tamil Nadu governments, the latter said that the process of land acquisition will be taken up depending on whether the Centre or Puducherry will provide compensation to land owners, Lakshminarayanan added. In response, Siva said that the Tamil Nadu chief minister should be approached regarding land acquisition.
While waiting for a response from the MHA, the Puducherry government is also exploring the PPP mode of funding, said Lakshminarayanan. Although a meeting with MHA and AAI officials was scheduled in January, it was cancelled. Now efforts are on to schedule a fresh meeting, he added. With the Puducherry government still paying compensation of Rs 30 crore for the 150 acres of land acquired during the initial days of the project, it could be the union territory’s share of investment in PPP mode along with Rs 8 crore spent on security and electricity. Lakshminarayanan further said that compensation will be provided as per the market rate of the land in respective areas.