AGARTALA, September 9 (TIWN): Finally the Tripura government had agreed to provide additional 3.79 acres of land sought by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) by November this year in view of getting the existing Agartala airport modernised soon into international standard. A jumbo meeting chaired by state Chief Secretary (CS) Yashpal Singh was held on Tuesday at the secretariat conference hall no. 2.

Talking to the reporters after the meeting State Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik on Tuesday said that the main objective of the meeting chaired by CS was to review the project work of the Agartala airport modernisation project work. The meeting discussed to implement the project soon by December this year.

Bhowmik said, “The AAI had informed that they would place the work order for the project work by December last by deploying the project management consultant.”

“From our part we would now take up some basic works including removal of threes and relocation of electric poles,” adding Bhowmik said that the District Administartion had already issued money to the state forest department for cutting the trees whereas the AAI had agreed to floor the money for the relocation of electric poles.

“The land issue is no more a problem with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) as the state government had taken up initiatives to provide additional 3.79 acres of land as sought by AAI for the car parking facilities,” said Bhowmik. The land would be handed over with the AAI by November, he said.

He said that there was no encroachment problem so far in the land being provide to the AAI, but some 6 families are still illegally acquiring the land of airport for which the airport authority have to take the responsibility to displace the families.

“Rs. 33 crore was spend by the government so far to rehabilitate as many as 166 families to get the land for the modernisation of Agartala airport,” Bhowmik told reporters.

However, later Bhowmik said that if everything falls in the right track than the entire project work is expected to be kicked off from December this year and according to the AAI the foundation stone of the project would be laid tentatively by December this year.