TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday categorically stated that ‘government is not in hurry to construct the Mopa airport and it will follow all legal provisions and seek necessary permissions for the project’.
Addressing a press conference, Parrikar said that the environment impact assessment (EIA) study is currently in process.
“For all those who think that government is in hurry or wants to impose the airport, I want to say that we are not in a hurry. We are going as per all the legal provisions,” he said.
Chief Minister said that no work will start till EIA is completed.
As reported by Herald earlier, EIA study will take atleast six months to complete.
Government is yet to release the request for qualification (RFQ) for proposed airport even as all the land required for the project has already been acquired. The airport is projected to cost an estimated Rs 3000 crore. The Chief Minister had earlier announced that if everything goes well, the new airport would commence operation by end of 2016 or early 2017.
Government is currently facing severe criticism over the proposed airport from South Goa as there is a fear that with Greenfield airport, the existing airport at Dabolim will close down.
Meanwhile, Parrikar said that the Goa (Right of Citizens to Time-Bound Delivery of) Public Services Act, 2013 would be implemented from the ongoing year. He said that the committee has been asked to frame the rules.
