Bengal to hand over 37.74 acres for proposed civil aiport in Hasimara
‘The Civil Aviation Ministry had sought land from the state for the construction of the terminal, admin block...’
Soon, the state government will hand over 37.74 acres to the Airports Authority as per the proposal of the Central Aviation Department for the proposed civil airport adjacent to the Hasimara Air Force base.
Surendra Kumar Meena, District Magistrate of Alipurduar, said: “37.74 acres of land has been requested by the Airport Authority of India adjacent to the northern boundary of Hasimara Air Force Station. The civil terminal will be built here. The land on the north side belongs to a tea garden. Discussions are going on with the management of the tea garden. The land issue has almost been resolved. We will hand over the land soon.” In July 2022, Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had written to Alipurduar MP and Union minister of state for minority affairs John Barla, mentioning that the Centre wanted to develop a civil airport at the Hasimara air force station. Scindia also informed Barla that the ministry had sought land from the state government for the construction of the terminal, administrative block and parking lot. Attending a government programme at Hasimara on January 19, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she would like a full-fledged airport to come up at Hasimara. She also made it clear that the state government is ready to hand over land to the civil aviation authority for the construction of the airport.The Chief Minister hopes that the economy of the area will get a boost once the Hasimara airport is built as the tourist inflow will increase furher. The management of the Satali Tea Garden had participated in a meeting with the State Chief Secretary regarding the land, recently.
On the request of the State government, the tea estate authorities have agreed to hand over 34 acres of land for construction of the airport. The Management has requested compensation from the state government for the tea bushes.
“The industrial sector will get a big boost from this airport. Bhutan is situated next to Hasimara. If an international standard airport is built in Hasimara, air connectivity with Bhutan can be established. People of Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Assam will be benefited. Economic growth will improve,” stated Prasenjit Dey, General Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Alipurduar.
