GMR gets high rise jolt

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has received a setback with the Union civil aviation ministry making it clear that the power of issuing no objection certificates for high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the new airport at Shamshabad would rest with the Airports Authority of India.

GHIAL and AAI were at loggerheads on who should issue NOCs and to clear the ambiguity, the municipal administration and urban development department sought a clarification from the ministry, sources said.

In a recent communication to the state, the ministry said all the applications for NOCs should be routed through the AAI officials concerned. Accordingly, the government instructed the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (Hada) and the director of town and country planning.

Meanwhile, the NOC affair took a new turn with the Airport Authority of India not accepting applications from the builders. Several builders rushed to Maud complaining against the standoff between GHIAL and AAI, forcing the principal secretary, Mr S.P. Singh, to convene a meeting on Tuesday to resolve the issue. Official sources told this correspondent that the meeting, however, could not take place as the AAI representatives did not attend.

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GMR hopes for Ugadi start

The new Hyderabad international airport, beset by unexpected delays, is likely to start functioning in 20 days. Regular flights from the airport at Shamshabad are expected to begin from Ugadi, on April 7.

A GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) official, while declining to make any formal announcement, said: "We hope Ugadi, the Telugu New Year's Day, will usher in a new beginning for us.

" A statement on the airport's official website says: "We understand that some airlines have approached the ministry of civil aviation seeking more time to begin operations from HIA. Acceding to their requests, (the ministry) has advised us to begin operations in a few days. We will intimate the new date and will commence operations soon."

Highly placed official sources said the civil aviation ministry is under pressure from low-cost airlines to have two airports in the city. Air travellers and Airports Authority of India (AAI) staff have also been pushing for operations to continue at the Begumpet airport. Low cost airlines have apparently joined hands to apply pressure

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Panel is against Closure of Airport

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd on Wednesday said there is no question of "renegotiating" the deal signed with the Union government for the development of the new international airport at Shamshabad.

Responding to a Parliamentary panel recommendation that agreements for the greenfield international airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad should be modified so that existing airports in the metros would not be closed down, Mr Kiran Kumar Grandhi, GMR Group chairman (airports), said operating two airports in the city would not be financially viable.

The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by the CPI(M) leader Mr Sitaram Yechury, asked the government to "modify or scrap" certain clauses in the agreements with the developers of the airports, keeping in mind air traffic growth in recent years.

"The government still has time to renegotiate the issue with the concessionaire and can modify or scrap the clause which facilitates the closure of the existing airports," Mr Yechury said.

Mr Yechury said that the possible revenue implications of such a renegotiation should not inhibit the government from proceeding on such a course in national interest.

The government, however, expressed doubts about the possibility of renegotiating the agreements.

"It is not possible to renegotiate the deals at this stage especially when the inauguration of the Hyderabad airport is just a few days away," the Union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said.


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