Visakhapatnam: After the AP High Court on Friday cleared the legal hurdles for the proposed Bhogapuram International Airport, education minister Botsa Satyanarayana directed Vizianagaram district officials to speed up land acquisition for the project.
The minister issued the directions during a review with collector A. Surya Kumari and joint collector Mayur Ashok on Saturday, after the High Court paved the way for the process. He also sought officials to properly document the acquisition.
“Now that all legal issues have been resolved, work on the greenfield airport needs to start immediately,” the minister told the officials.
In June 2020, the GMR Group inked an agreement with the AP government to develop the Bhogapuram International Airport, with a proposed deadline of 2023. However, the project was held up due to delays in land acquisition.
In January 2015, the state government issued a notification to acquire 2,700, of which 2,200 acres were earmarked for the airport and 500 acres, for allied services. The government had announced a compensation package of Rs 678 crore for 1,959 landowners, but it could not acquire 37.15 acres of the 2,200 acres earmarked for the airport.
A group of 32 farmers from Kancheru village of Bhogapuram mandal challenged the notification, following which the High Court issued a stay on it, which was vacated on Friday.
Addressing mediapersons on Saturday, Botsa said that the foundation stone for the airport, as well as a Central Tribal University, would be laid soon. Sources, however, indicated that it was unlikely during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visakhapatnam visit on November 11.
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