TEAM HERALD
[email protected]
MARGAO: Defending his government decision to de-notify Dabolim airport parking land on the basis that alternative land was available with the government, former Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat during whose tenure the government had de-notified the land meant for airport parking, told Herald on Wednesday that the decision to de-notify the land was taken after due consultations and discussions before it got the Cabinet nod.
Replying to another question as to why the government did not ensure that it took the alternate land in possession before de-notifying the parking land in Survey No 8/1, Kamat said: “Directions were given to start the land acquisition process. The Revenue department was supposed to take the process to its logical conclusion. I did not look after the Revenue portfolio. May be, the Revenue department started the process and it got stuck up when election code came into force.”
When Herald asked Kamat whether he regrets now for the decision to de-notify the parking land without acquiring the alternate land, he said “there is no question of regretting the decision. The decision was taken after due consultations with the Airport Authority of India, Revenue Minister, local MLA and others. We had then seen the plans of both the de-notified land as well as the alternate land. Moreover, the land in question belonged to a Goan family and was located in a settlement area.” He, however, declined to comment when pointed out that the same Goan family later gave the property to a real estate developer for development.
When his attention was drawn to the fact that while the parking land stands de-notified and the government is yet to acquire the alternate land, Kamat quipped “I think the government should go ahead with the acquisition of the 70,000 sq.mts of the land, which belonged to the local Comunidade but which is now claimed by the Navy. This land is located outside the boundary wall of the Navy. When we had decided to de-notify the parking land in Survey No 8/1, we had also decided to acquire this 70,000 sq.mts of land. The present government should acquire this land.”
When it was pointed out to him the absence of parking would strangulate Dabolim airport, which could result in its closure or at the very least restrict its operations, Kamat said: “I feel the parking provision for 500 vehicles inside the airport is very reasonable facility. It is a sizeable parking facility at any given point of time. But, if there’s a need for parking facility for buses and coaches other than this facility, the government should acquire the 70,000 sq.mts of land for the purpose.”
No response from AAI: Parrikar
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told Herald that despite repeated attempts to get the Airports Authority of India to submit the plans, they have failed to respond to the government with what their requirements and needs are for parking at Dabolim. “The question of whether or not to re-notify the land denotified by the previous government arises only when the government gets proper communication from the AAI,” he added. “I have asked the Chief Secretary to write to the Chairman AAI… they need to let the government know of their requirements. Once we have that a decision on the matter will be taken expeditiously, he said.
