PANJIM: The State government on Friday announced it would provide five acres of land at the proposed Greenfield International Airport at Mopa to the Defence Ministry for setting up a separate Naval enclave.
Speaking to media persons, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the government has agreed to the demand of the Defence Ministry to hand over five acres of land to them due to security concerns.
“Whenever an airport comes up in the coastal area, the Defence Ministry always has a plan and for security concerns, they ask for some land,” Parsekar said responding to the recent communication between the Union Ministry and State government over the issue.
“Since Dabolim airport is already under the Navy, we had initially refused. But now we have decided to give for security reasons,” he added.
“It is not like we are giving away 36 lakh sq mtrs of land through Industrial Development Corporation to Special Economic Zone. It is not such huge land we are giving away,” the Chief Minister said, in an attempt to justify his government decision. Parsekar said the people need not agitate or panic over handling over land to the Defence forces.
In a letter to the Chief Minister on June 2, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had sought five acres of land for a Naval enclave on lease for the entire period of the concession.
“The proposed naval infrastructure would be created at the cost of the Ministry of Defence with an independent entry and exit to the naval facility,” Parrikar said.
The Defence ministry has clarified that “launch of military operational missions would take priority over normal operations in case of emergency.”
“Operations from the proposed airport should at no stage interfere with search and rescue or other high priority military maritime air operations including coastal security operations planned from INS Hansa (naval base in Vasco town),” the communication says.
