MALAPPURAM: The state government is contemplating to go ahead with bare minimum land which can easily be acquired for the development of the Calicut International Airport in Karipur. The move come as the procedures to acquire 485 acres of land as per the master plan has stayed at a standstill due to stiff resistance from the local residents. The transport department has sought the minimum land required for the runway development which can be acquired without much difficulty.
In its reply, the Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) local unit informed the government a few days ago that only 168.13 acres of land was needed for the further development of the runway at the airport to meet all the mandatory safety measures stipulated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to allow bigger aircrafts (Code E) to ply. According to the current master plan approved by the DGCA and AAI, 284.3 acres of land was needed for the runway expansion alone.
The master plan for the airport development requires 485 acres of land to be acquired, which in turn becomes a dent for the decades long land acquisition move. Though the latest proposal has revived hopes of speeding up the acquisition, the approval for a revision in the master plan will be a major hurdle before the government. According to an official in revenue department, the proposed 168 acres of land can be acquired within a year without issues. However, it needs final nod from the Union government.
According to the master plan 137 acres of land have to be acquired for the relocation of the terminal and setting up staff quarters and 100 acres for rehabilitation of affected parties besides 248 acres for the runway expansion. By acquiring 168 acres of land, the current 2,850- metre long runway can be expanded to 3,620 metres. The runway safety area on both sides can also be extended from current 150 metre to 300 and the 90 metre runway end safety area to 240 metres which would pave the way for wide bodied aircrafts to land in the airport again.
