Hyderabad: GMR Visakhapatnam International
Airport
Limited (GVIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited (GAL), said that the environmental clearance (EC) for the Bhogapuram International Airport was obtained after following the due process. It also said that there was no law prohibiting setting up of a new airport within 150 km of an existing civilian airport.
In a counter-affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal, GVIAL said the project pertained to developing the Bhogapuram airport and that only 2,004 acres for phase I development along with 119 acres for approach road was contemplated. “There is no project for 15,000 acres as alleged by an appellant in respect of the Bhogapuram airport,” said GVIAL. The NGT was hearing a petition of an agriculture land owner Sridevi Datla of Visakhapatnam whose land was acquired for the airport project.
GVIAL said: “The appellant’s contention that Bhogapuram airport is in violation of ministry of civil aviation’s greenfield airport policy is wrong and liable to be rejected. The ministry has given the EC after considering all factors. Conditions mentioned in the EC more than adequately address concerns of the precautionary principle and sustainable development measures.”
GVIAL in its affidavit said: “There is no prohibition for setting up a new airport within 150 km of an existing civilian airport. However, in Vizag, the existing airport is not a civilian airport but a naval airport.”
The EC was given for development of phase I of the greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram.
Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times...
Read MoreSudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.
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