Union civil aviation minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia has written to the chief ministers of five states – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, seeking personal intervention in matters related to land allocation and funding to boost aviation infrastructure in the regions, the central government said on Wednesday (August 25).
In a letter to Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the aviation minister noted that the state had already handed over a quantum of land in most of its airports. “However, some portions of land are yet to be handed over to AAI by the state government,” the letter read.
The ministry also noted that an amount of ₹14.64 crore needs to be deposited with the Regional Air Connectivity Fund Trust by the state.
Similarly, Scindia sought the intervention of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu in land acquisition for various aviation sector projects, including the installation of Non-Directional Beacon and construction of a residential colony for the airport staff at Tezu Airport.
In his letter to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Scindia said: “Out of the total projected land, only 8.5 acre of land has been handed over at Dibrugarh Airport, and rest of the land parcels are yet to be handed over by the state government.”
The aviation minister told Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar that the state should take into consideration the scope for international connectivity and consequently viability of operation of a wide body aircraft.
While writing to Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Scindia highlighted matters related to land requirement of 569 acre at Raigarh for development of the airport to make it suitable for operations of ATR72/Q400 type of aircraft in Phase-l and AB-320 type of Aircraft in Phase-II.
Urges 22 states to reduce VAT on ATF to 1-4%
Scindia has urged 22 states and Union Territories to reduce value-added tax on aviation turbine fuel and bring it within the range of 1-4% across all airports in order to give an impetus to air travel, the civil aviation ministry said.
“The price of ATF is a major component of the operating cost of airlines. With that, the tax on ATF contributes significantly to the ATF price,” according to a statement issued by the ministry.
Photo: Union civil aviation minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia