Government extends time for acquisition of land for Gaggal airport expansion till June 30 next year
The Tourism Department has extended the time period for the acquisition of land for the expansion of the Gaggal airport in Kangra district till June 30 next year.
Devesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Tourism and Civil Aviation), issued a notification in this regard yesterday to ensure that the social impact assessment report submitted by an expert group did not lapse for the reason that the land acquisition proceedings were not complete.
As per Section 11 of the Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, if a notice for land acquisition is not issued within 12 months from the date of the appraisal of the social impact assessment report, the report shall be deemed to have lapsed. The expert group had submitted the social impact assessment report on June 5, 2023, regarding land acquisition for the expansion of the Gaggal airport.
The Himachal Government is keen to undertake the expansion of the Gaggal airport to facilitate the landing of Boeing planes, which will give a fillip to tourism. The present runway of the airport is 1,376 metres long and it will be expanded to almost 3,010 metres to facilitate the landing of bigger planes. The cost of land acquisition for this ambitious project will be around Rs 1,900 crore and Rs 410 crore out of it has already been paid to villagers for their land acquired.
A total of 122 hectares are to be acquired in 14 villages (10 villages in Kangra tehsil and four in Shahpur tehsil of Kangra district) for the project. Additional 26 hectares belonging to the government are also being acquired and for which the appropriate government agency is required to issue a notification under Section 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The authorities concerned have already acquired more than 50 per cent of the land required falling in nine villages in the vicinity of the Gaggal airport.
The notification for land acquisition cannot be issued within the stipulated period under Section 7 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The state government has the power to extend the period for land acquisition up to 24 months. The notification mentions that the land acquisition work could not be completed due to unavoidable administrative reasons.
It is in exercise of powers conferred under Section 14 of the Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the notification has been issued, extending the time period for land acquisition till June 30, 2026.
The state government has sought assistance from the Central Government for the airport’s expansion but a positive response is still awaited. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has written to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, seeking special Central assistance for the project. It is with this very objective that the Congress government has also declared Kangra as the tourism capital of the state.
Land acquisition to cost around Rs 1,900 crore
- The Himachal Government is keen to undertake the expansion of the Gaggal airport to facilitate the landing of Boeing planes, which will give a fillip to tourism
- The land acquisition will cost around Rs 1,900 crore and Rs 410 crore of it has already been paid to affected villagers
Himachal Tribune