Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has sought permission from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the development of the proposed Amarda Road Airport project. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh (retd) said, the Odisha have requested MoD to accord permission for using Amarda airstrip for operations under UDAN.
“The Ministry of Civil Aviation has also approached MoD on March 7 to consider the request of Government of Odisha for granting permission to develop a Civil Enclave at Amarda airstrip,” Gen Singh said in an answer to Odisha MP Amar Patnaik’s question on the matter.
Patnaik asked about the steps taken for the revival of the defunct Amarda Road Airstrip in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha and the reasons for delay in the issuance of NOC for flight operation under RCS-UDAN.
In his reply the Union Minister said, “Amarda (Rasgovindpur) airstrip belonging to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence (MoD), is included in the UDAN scheme document. Bhubaneshwar to Amarda (Rasgovindpur) and vice versa was offered as State sponsored route under bidding round UDAN 4.1 and Airports Authority of India(AAI), the Implementing Agency received one bid.”
“An airport which is included in the awarded routes of UDAN and requires upgradation / development for commencement of RCS operations, is developed under “Revival of unserved and underserved airports” scheme. A multi-disciplinary team of AAI visited Amarda Airstrip (Rasgovindpur) on September 16, 2021 and conducted inspection of existing site along with State Revenue Department officials.”
Patnaik also sought the details of the report submitted by the experts of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that visited the Amarda Road Airstrip and whether Government has taken any other measures to improve air connectivity in northern parts of Odisha.
According to Gen Singh, the AAI team has given a green signal for the proposed airport. The AAI team recommended that development of Amarda airport appears to be technically feasible subject to OLS surveys, NOC from MoD and compliance with other statutory/extant guidelines in the matter.
There is a requirement of additional land for development of airport for IFR operations of Code C aircraft and proper co-ordination/approval of MoD for Amarda airport.
“UDAN is a market driven scheme. Interested airlines based on their assessment of demand on particular routes submit their proposals at the time of bidding under UDAN. Jharsuguda , Rourkela , Utkela , Jeypore and Rangeilunda are the airports that have been identified/awarded under UDAN,” said Gen Singh.
The Minister said that Amarda Road, Angul, Barbil, Birasal, Gudari, Hirakund, Jayakpur, Jeypore, Lanjigarh, Nawapara, Padampur, Rairangpur, Raisuan, Rangeilunda, Sukinda , Theruboli, Tushra And Utkela are the unserved Airports available in the UDAN Scheme document for the State of Odisha. A total of 60 routes have been awarded under UDAN for the State of Odhisha and 18 have been operationalized, till date.
