The Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, on the 12th of December, met the Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Delhi.
During the meeting, Mr. Rao sought an expedition in the process to develop five domestic airports in Telangana. The proposal was for airports at Basantnagar, Mamnoor, Adilabad, Jakranpally, Devarkadra and Kothagudem.
In regard to this, The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Government made the proposal to build airports earlier in 2014, when the state was formed.
Mr. Rao wrote a letter to Hardeep Singh Puri and said, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had already taken up the obstacle limitation surface survey (OLS), soil testing, and other investigations at the proposed domestic airports. He added, “The final reports are yet to be given.”
KCR also urged the Minister to help the State Government in finalizing the sites besides granting all statutory clearances on a single-window basis.
Mr. Rao said, “I request the Ministry of Civil Aviation to expedite the process and do the required hand-holding with the state government in finalizing the sites and getting all statutory clearances on a single-window basis so that the state government can commence the infrastructure work at the earliest for starting the Non-Scheduled Operator’s Permit (NSOP) operations with its own funds.”
The CM attached the old letter that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.
The old letter which was attached, read, “The newly formed State of Telangana requires additional air connectivity for its overall growth. It has only one airport at Hyderabad. The government of India is requested to take initiative to set up five, new airports at Adilabad, Warangal, Kothagudem, Nizamabad and, Shamirpet (north of Hyderabad). Some of these places have old airstrips, which may be made use of to establish regular airports.”
Besides meeting Hardeep Singh Puri, Mr. Rao also met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
KCR reportedly urged Shah to release the financial aid of Rs 1,358 crore towards Hyderabad flood relief. KCR is on a three-day visit to New Delhi and is likely to meet the Prime Minister too.
Besides the meetings with Mr. Shekhawat and Mr. Puri, KCR is also likely to meet with Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India and Nitin Gadkari, the
Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister of India.
Mr. Rao would also try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, based on their availability.
The main agenda of all the political meetings would be the development and issues of Telangana.
However, the timing of Mr. Rao’s visit raised eyebrows and made headlines.
Mr. Rao’s Delhi tour became a topic of debate in political circles, especially after his recent comments against the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.)
During the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections the tiff between the TRS and the BJP was visible.
In addition, the TRS also announced to stand as a Federal Front playing an active role in the national politics against the BJP and the Indian National Congress (INC.)
K. Chandrashekar Rao, who is accompanied by T. Harish Rao, the Telangana Finance Minister and Vemula Prashanth Reddy, the Roads and Buildings Legislative Affairs and Housing Minister of Telangana, would return to Hyderabad on the 13th of December.
Stay tuned for further updates.
