Delay in Pathankot Airport Project Annoys Khanna

January 8, 2004

Delay in Airport Project Annoys Khanna
Times of India
 
PATHANKOT: With the Bharatiya Janata Party in election mode, minister of state 
for external affairs Vinod Khanna on Wednesday reviewed the progress of the 
Pathankot civil airport and visited Gurdaspur Hotel Management Institute along 
with senior district officials. 

  


Though Khanna expressed satisfaction over the pace of work on the airport as 
its building is almost complete, but with no sign of the approach road linking 
the airport with Himachal Pradesh, the partner state of Punjab for the airport, 
it was galling for the minister, who was instrumental in getting the airport 
project for Punjab . 

  

The indifferent attitude towards completion of the road may further delay the 
completion of the project beyond the stipulated time. 

  

The airport project was launched during the regime of Parkash Singh Badal in 
Punjab while Prem Kumar Dhumal was chief minister in Himachal Pradesh, which 
will boost tourism in Punjab , Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to a 
great extent. 

  

As it will boost tourist influx to Ranjit Sagar Dam, Mclodeganj in Dharmsala, 
headquarters of Dalai Lama and Vaishno Devi shrine in J&K, the Punjab 
government, HP government and Indian Air Force had signed a memorandum of 
understanding (MoU) about three years back under which the Pathankot Air Force 
Station had given 9,500 square feet of its land for building an airstrip for 
take off and arrival of international and domestic flights. 

  

While the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has so far spent more than Rs 30 
crore to complete the building of civil enclave, the land for the approach road 
was made available by Punjab government and construction of the road of about 2 
km was to be done by the Himachal government as per the agreement. 

  

Though the project was to be completed by March 2004, the HP government is 
playing truant in completing the link road as it has not floated any tender for 
completion of the project so far. 

  

Since Himachal will to be the biggest beneficiary of the project, Khanna 
expressed his unhappiness to HP chief secretary over the slow pace of work. 
With the Lok Sabha elections drawing nearer and his pet airport project not 
being completed, the BJP is likely to make it a poll issue and attribute the 
sluggish pace of development of the project to the Congress government led by 
Virbhadra government in the state, according to BJP insiders. 
 
 

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