Vijayawada: Machilipatnam MP Konakalla Narayana on Wednesday asked the government to implement the Act passed recently — Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 – when acquiring land for the expansion of the Gannavaram airport.
Participating in Gannavaram Airport Advisory Board meeting in the city here on Wednesday, Narayana said that the landowners, who stand to lose lands due to the expansion process, would not get any benefit from the existing laws.
He said that the farmers would get at least four times more money than the present market price, if the new Land Acquisition Act was implemented.
The new Act will come into force from Jan. 2014.
The MP found fault with the state government for the delay in the expansion of the airport and asked the government to expedite the works.
Airport director B.G. Patil said that proposals have been sent for the expansion with an estimated cost of Rs 360 crore to the corporate office?of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), New Delhi.
He said that some work regarding the expansion has already begun while more works would be taken up after the acquisition process is completed.?
Patil reminded that the it would take at least three to four years to get international airport status for the Gannavaram airport. “It must be remembered that the Master Plan?might see changes in the event of the state being bifurcated,” the airport director said.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation commissioner C. Hari Kiran said the government had recently issued a draft notification for the land acquisition and advised Patil to acquire the land in phased manner as it would be difficult to acquire the 491 acres required at one go.
Making some suggestions on the safety and security, DCP M. Ravi Prakash stressed the need for the installation of more?CCTV cameras on the premises of the airport.
He asked the officials to allot separate rooms for an inspector and women constables at the airport terminal building.
