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Land for airport expansion handed over to Tourism Department

Staff Reporter

Residents complain that their grievances are not being heard

PUDUCHERRY: The measures to expand the airport runway here have moved a step further with the Tourism Department taking possession of the required land.

The Revenue Department officially handed over the p 20 hectares of land to the Tourism Department on Monday.

The documents were handed over to the authorities at the airport itself. As per the Land Acquisition Act 1894, the handover should be done on the spot. Signatures of the landowners should also be taken on the spot, a senior Revenue Department official told The Hindu.

Signatures of 30 landowners were taken and handed over to the Tourism Department, he said.

The Tourism Department would soon hand over the land to the Airports Authority of India to start the expansion work.

Sources in the department said it would take place before the end of this month or in the first week of August.

The administration and the AAI entered into a memorandum of understanding on June 16 to expand the runway by 260 meters from its present length of 1,222 meters in the first phase.

The 20 hectares of landwould be sufficient for the expansion work, officials of the Tourism Department said.

Meanwhile, when the Revenue Department officials came to the airport for handing over the land, local residents came to the spot and objected to the land acquisition. They complained that their grievances were not heard before sending them notices.

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