Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Madras Flying Club to face bulldozers soon

Madras Flying Club to face bulldozers soon

CHENNAI: The Madras Flying Club (MFC) is expected to be demolished, as the Chennai Airport needs the land for expansion of the taxitrack that runs parallel to the main runway.

MFC currently occupies about 1,600 sq m land leased to them by the airport authority. The lease reportedly expired in 1997 and the MFC sought its renewal. However, as part of the airport expansion works that is under way, the taxitrack needs to be corrected and expanded near the portion where the MFC building and its hangar are located. “The taxitrack B has a bend near the MFC end, which comes too close to the runway. To expand and straighten that, almost 50% of the MFC property has to be demolished. Moreover, as flight movements have increased, MFC is not being allowed to do any flying in Chennai. They have been offering flying lessons from Vellore for the last two-three years anyway,” an airport source said.

The demolition is expected to happen once the taxitrack parallel to secondary runway is ready. After this expansion, taxitrack B will connect to the starting of the secondary runway.

The MFC, now in its 81st year of existence, has many firsts to its credit, apart from being one of the oldest landmarks of aviation in India. At one point of time, it was one of the few clubs that trained personnel in Air Force as well. At present, MFC hangars are being used to park the State owned helicopter and aircraft Cessna Citation-V5.

Protest against greenfield airport politically motivated, says CM

Protest against greenfield airport politically motivated, says CM

CHENNAI: Chief minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday charged that agitations announced by the AIADMK and PMK against land acquisition for the proposed greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur was "politically motivated". "Their intention is to prevent the DMK government from taking credit for implementing such mega projects," he charged.

In a rejoinder to the two parties, he said the agitation was totally unwarranted as no particular site had been identified so far. Only soil testing work was going on at present, he noted. Officials had taken soil samples from 64 places spread across 4,200 acres so far. Soil samples were taken from Tirumangalam, Molachur, Sokandi, Mampakkam, Sriperumbudur, Kilai, Sirukilai, Vadamangalam and Padichery in Sriperumbudur taluk and Kottaiyur, Vadalur, Thiruppanthiyur in Tiruvallur taluk. Land acquisition work had not yet started.

His government's intention was not to snatch the houses and agricultural fields of common people, he said. If any land had to be acquired, the government would provide adequate compensation, he said and added that at a recent meeting of official convened by chief secretary K S Sripathi, it was communicated to the Airports Authority of India that only the minimum required land for the airport project should be acquired.

Responding to PMK founder S Ramadoss' suggestion to shift the project to an alternative site, Karunanidhi said Ramadoss was aware that the government had narrowed in on the present site after considering a lot of other options. Any other site would have led to massive dislocation of human habitations, he claimed.

The present airport was bursting at the seams owing to congestion caused by increasing air traffic, Karunanidhi said and noted that the Centre was going ahead with plans to expand existing airports or set up greenfield airports in all major cities. Neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had completed work on new airports. "Here alone, people are keen on spiking the airport project," he lamented and added that a big airport was any growing city's necessity and if such projects were opposed, it would affect the state's economic growth.

It was at a meeting of various legislature party leaders on May 22, 2007 that it was decided to set up a greenfield airport on 4,821 acres in Sriperumbudur and Tiruvallur taluks even as expansion of the present airport in Chennai is underway. D Jayakumar of AIADMK and GK Mani of PMK attended that meeting. It was resolved to ask the Airports Authority of India to take up the work on its own. The state government had not taken this decision unilaterally, he said.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Protest-against-greenfield-airport-politically-motivated-says-CM/articleshow/6333301.cms

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Sriperumbudur: Jaya opposes land acquisition

CHENNAI: AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa Friday opposed acquisition of land belonging to people in Sriperumbudur area for a greenfield airport, saying it would threaten their livelihood.

"The government has decided to acquire 6,921 acres for greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur belt. The acquisition process of farm lands in the villages are going at a fast pace," she said, according to a statement issued here.

People living in 20 villages will be losing their houses as well as their farm lands thereby putting their livelihood into question, she said, adding the education of several school children will be affected and religious places will also be demolished.

The AIADMK chief also strongly condemned the police action on farmers going in procession to submit a petition to the district collector against the land acquisition.

http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/sriperumbudur-jaya-opposes-land-acquisition/197894.html

Jaya opposes land acquisition for airport at Sriperumbudur

Chennai: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on Friday opposed acquisition of land belonging to people in Sriperumbudur area for a greenfield airport, saying it would threaten their livelihood.
'The government has decided to acquire 6,921 acres for greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur belt. The acquisition process of farm lands in the villages are going at a fast pace,' she said, according to a statement issued here.

People living in 20 villages will be losing their houses as well as their farm lands thereby putting their livelihood into question, she said, adding the education of several school children will be affected and religious places will also be demolished.

The AIADMK chief also strongly condemned the police action on farmers going in procession to submit a petition to the district collector against the land acquisition.

http://sify.com/news/jaya-opposes-land-acquisition-for-airport-at-sriperumbudur-news-national-kinu4bfgiae.html