The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Airport authority to sort out land issue with Defence Secretary

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Airport authority to sort out land issue with Defence Secretary

Special Correspondent

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

FIRST RIDE: Airports Authority of India Chairman V.P. Agrawal on the travelator at the Chennai airport on Friday. Airport Director K. Natarajan is also in the picture.

CHENNAI: A meeting with the Defence Secretary will be organised next week to sort out the defence land issue at the Chennai airport, said V. P. Agrawal, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), said here on Friday.

Talking to reporters after inaugurating the travelator at the airport, Mr. Agrawal said the State government had already allotted land for defence authorities. “If the defence property is not handed over to the AAI on time, it will affect the ongoing development works.”

He also launched a toll-free number for the Chennai airport that passengers could use to register complaints.

On the study taken up by the International Civil Aviation Organisation on creating an alternative airport near Sriperumbudur, Mr. Agrawal said the AAI had appointed a consultant, which was yet to begin work. The Organisation had not done much in this regard. Answering a question on replacing the existing Mono-pulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR), Mr. Agrawal said a new MSSR would be installed on the AAI premises at Porur. It was expected to be commissioned within six months.

Asked about underutilisation of space in non-metro airports, the Chairman said in some of them those who had taken AAI property wanted reduction in rent. There was no system in the government to adjust the rent amount according to the situation. However, the AAI was giving extended time for making the payment. Talking about the automation of Air Traffic Control Tower at the Chennai airport, Mr. Agrawal said a private company, Raytheon, had visited the place. It would be introduced soon.

The AAI had issued orders to officials for allowing operation of Kingfisher and Paramount airlines on ‘cash-and-carry’ basis. Whenever the AAI demanded payment, Kingfisher airlines paid a portion of the outstanding amount. A deadline of December 10 has been set for Kingfisher airlines to clear the arrears, he said.

Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation submitted a report to the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of AAI. Talking about this issue, Mr. Agrawal said a case was filed a few years by the CBI on allotment of car parking. Later, it closed the case. The CVC had sent the report to the AAI for its comments and opinion.

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