CM Himanta Biswa Sarma clears stand over Doloo airport issue

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Amid the hue and cry over the proposed Greenfield airport at the Doloo Tea Estate in the Cachar district, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday clarified the State Government's stand, saying that all the ground work has been done on the basis of discussions that he has had with Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Sarma said that some people are making an unnecessary fuss without studying the facts and figures in detail.

"What happened at the Doloo Tea Estate was not an eviction. It was clearance of the ground with the concurrence of all stakeholders, including the labourers' unions. The Government made a deal with the tea garden owners and procured the land. In fact, even the compensation of Rs 1 lakh to each affected family is nothing but a goodwill gesture on the part of the Government," the Chief Minister said.

He said that during his discussions with the Civil Aviation Minister, he was told to arrange the required land and then come for the necessary permission for the airport. He added that the Government proceeded further only after the AAI authority identified Doloo Tea Estate as the best site in the area for the proposed Greenfield airport.

He said that the Government then sat for discussions with the tea garden's management as well as the labourers' unions and unanimity emerged at that point for giving the required land for the airport. However, a section of people with vested interests entered the scene once the process for land acquirement started and a hostile scenario was created, Sarma said.

The Chief Minister asserted that the Government is committed to setting up the Greenfield airport in the Doloo Tea Estate area in the interest of the Barak Valley at large.

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