Night landing plea before CM flies - Three encroacher families have stalled takeover of govt land, says AAI

Bagdogra airport. File picture

AVIJIT SINHA Additional reporting by our Calcutta bureau, TT, Siliguri, June 15: A handful of encroacher families have held up the installation of Bagdogra airport's night landing system, a matter the Airports Authority of India would highlight during talks with the chief minister and ask for the plot on June 19, sources at AAI said today.

Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to take off from Bagdogra for Calcutta on June 19 at the end of her north Bengal tour that began today.

An AAI source said: "Going by the latest update provided to us by Darjeeling district administration, the land is not yet free from encumbrances. There are three families or so who are asking for more compensation. This is delaying the handing over of the land. We want the state to expedite the process and thus, our officials plan to meet the chief minister on June 19."

The land in question is a 23-acre government plot adjacent to the airport. Once the AAI gets the land, the Instrument Landing System, that guides planes for landing at night and in bad weather, will be installed by the Indian Air Force, which is the custodian of Bagdogra airport.

Earlier this year, north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb had said the AAI would get the land by March 31.But today, when asked about the handing over of land, he too conceded that the plot was not free of encroachers yet.

"There are some families living on a portion of the land. They have been offered adequate compensation but they are yet to decide on relocation," Deb said.

"We are consistently making follow-ups on the issue. After the chief minister's trip, we will again sit with officials to try and resolve the issue."

Land has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks for infrastructure projects in Bengal because of the Trinamul government's hands-off policy.

The requirement for a night landing system was decided on in 2012. Since then, around 10 of the encroacher families have been removed.

The AAI source said: "We have been asking for the land from the state for years because it is essential to install the ILS, which eventually will stop diversion of flights because of bad weather. The state has marked the land, measuring around 23 acres but are yet to hand it over to us."

He said: "As the chief minister is coming on a trip to north Bengal today and is scheduled to return to Calcutta via Bagdogra on June 19, we intend to meet with her and ask for the land."

The official said S. Bhaduri, the regional airport director in Calcutta, will fly to Bagdogra on June 19 too. He is likely to meet Mamata with some other officials of AAI, requesting her to see that the land is handed over immediately to them.

Bhaduri said he would like to discuss the land issue with Mamata on June 19 if she had the time. "On that day, I'll be at Bagdogra for some inspection work. If the CM has time, I'll talk to her about the land," he said.

Since north Bengal is a major tourist destination, diversion of flights because of poor visibility should be avoided as much as possible. "So, ILS is important," he said.

Rakesh Sahay, the airport director of Bagdogra, said: "The ILS here would be installed by Indian Air Force under their airfield modernisation project. It would take them six to seven months to install the facility.... The moment we receive the land from the state, we will hand it over to the IAF."

He added: "As of now, we have watch hours till 10pm. But during the rainy season and in winter, flights are cancelled for poor visibility."

Earlier this year, when the issue was raised, Deb and Barun Roy, the principal secretary of the north Bengal development department, had assured that they were working on compensations to encroachers and that the land would be handed over to AAI by March 31.

Bagdogra is the cheapest airport in India for airlines as the state government has completely removed fuel surcharge. Despite this, the airport, which is close to the tourist haunts of the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars, has not got the expected flight traffic.

Mamata has been sent a request through the state medium and small-scale enterprise and textile departments to open the Biswa Bangla store which is under construction at the terminal building. The AAI, in association with BSNL, will also introduce Wi-Fi at the airport on June 19.