By Our Reporter
Shillong: After the Defence ministry has rejected a request to part with a few acres of land for upgradation of the airport at Umroi, the State government now mulls to offer a plot of land adjacent to the Army camp near the airport to the Defence authorities in lieu the required plot of land.
Informing this, the State Transport Minister AT Mondal has said, “Talks are still on with Defence Ministry in this regard and I will continue to pursue the matter with the Ministry”.
The airport requires around 32 acres of defence land for expansion.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had earlier submitted a proposal to set up a cargo facility in 35 acres of defence land located in front of the airport.
The AAI has also approved installation of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the airport but here again there is a land issue as some hills have to be chopped for the purpose.
According to Mondal, two petroleum companies — Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum — had approached the State Government to set up a refueling station and the retail outlet at the airport.
“They visited the airport and the area has been demarcated,” he added.
It may be mentioned that the lone ATR flight which comes to Shillong from Kolkata is forced to accommodate less passengers as the flight has to carry additional fuel since the Shillong airport does not have a refueling facility.
The Minister also informed that the proposal for installing the Instrument Landing System (ILS) is still pending with Director General of Civil Aviation for its clearance.
Although the Government had handed over 224 acres of land last year for the expansion of the runway from the present 6000 feet to 7500 feet, which would facilitate landing of bigger aircrafts, nothing concrete has materialised yet.