New Delhi, March 12: In spite of giving site clearance to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for setting up of a greenfield airport at Doloo in Cachar district of Assam more than a year back, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is still waiting for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) from the AAI to give 'in-principle' approval to start the construction works of the greenfield airport.

Informing this in the Rajya Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said that on the basis of the recommendations of the steering committee on greenfield airports, the Government of India has granted site clearance to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for setting up of a greenfield airport at Doloo, Cachar, on February 22, 2024.

"The AAI is required to prepare a DPR including the details like social and environ-mental impact assessment, timelines for completion of the project, etc. Thereafter, prior to the commencement of construction works, the AAI has to submit an application along with the DPR to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) for grant of 'in-principle' approval," said Naidu.

The minister said that during the last three years, four greenfield airports, namely, Itanagar (Hollongi), Mopa (Goa), Shivamogga and Rajkot (Hirasar) have been built and operationalized.

The Government of India has accorded in-principle approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Rajkot (Hirasar) in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Oravakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Itanagar (Hollongi) in Arunachal Pradesh, as per GFA Policy, 2008.

"Out of these, 12 green-field airports, viz., Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, Itanagar (Hollongi), Mopa, Shivamogga and Rajkot (Hirasar) have been operationalized," Naidu said

- By A Correspondent