Telangana Rashtra Samithi to oppose Centre’s Begumpet airport move

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is opposed to the Central government’s move to hand over the Begumpet airport to defence authorities.

TRS MP B. Narasaiah Goud said that party MPs would represent to the Central government on this regard soon.

“We plan to call on Union civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and others concerned in this regard. Unlike Andhra Pradesh, Telangana has only one commercial airport and need the Begumpet airport and airports in Warangal, Adilabad and other places,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

Stating that they had received information that the Centre was contemplating to hand over the Begumpet Airport to defence authorities or IAF, he said that the airport was built by the Nizam and was the only domestic and international airport till the airport at Shamshabad was constructed.

“We will also take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We had asked for an aviation university, but the Centre has not taken any decision so far. Telangana needs more airports. Besides reviving Begumpet airport, the Telangana government has planned airports at Shamirpet, Warangal and Adilabad in tune with rapid development plans,” Mr Goud said.

“We have consulted with GMR, which is presently operating the Shamshabad airport, for reopening the Begumpet airport. It is not averse to it,” he said.

The Begumpet airport was shut down for commercial operations after the Shamshabad airport was inaugurated in March 2008. It is currently used for chartered flights.

Under the agreement reached with GMR Group, the government cannot build a new airport within a radius of 150 km from the Shamshabad airport.

This effectively disallows the government from building airports in Warangal, Nizamabad or Nalgonda.