Navi Mumbai airport: Green panel happy with developer report

Mumbai : Clearance for the second Mumbai airport could come about soon as the environment panel on Wednesday said the project developer, City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), has submitted an acceptable revised proposal.

EAC head Naresh Dayal said here that the panel was satisfied with the CIDCO?s new proposal and no further clarifications were needed from the latter.

?We will give the committee’s recommendations on the Navi Mumbai airport to the ministry (environment) within next two-three days,? he said after the panel’s meeting.

Union Environment minister Jairam Ramesh will take the final decision on the matter based on the Expert Appraisals Committee?s (EAC?s) report.

CIDCO joint MD Tanaji Satre said he was confident the project will be approved by the green panel after the changes.

The CIDCO, in the revised proposal, has agreed to change the location of non-aeronautical assets, like hotels and shopping areas, so that minimum damage is done to the mangroves and the two rivers ? Ulwe and Gadhi ? are not diverted.

The EAC?s suggestion for reducing the distance between the two runways was also addressed by the CIDCO.

The environment ministry had been opposing the project at Navi Mumbai, pointing that building an airport at that location will involve diversion of two rivers, destruction of 400-acres of mangroves and blasting of a hill that is 80 metres above sea level.

But the demand for a second airport has been mounting as the lone airport is hard-pressed to meet the requirements.

A second airport in the city will increase the passenger capacity between the two airports to 90-100 million against the 25 million handled by one airport currently.

A meeting between Ramesh and Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel last month had resolved to break the impasse and the EAC was asked to give its report at the earliest.