Domestic airport to come up on defence land in Ambala Cantt

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, April 7

More than two years after the civil airport project was approved under the Udan 3.0 scheme, the district administration and the air force authorities have agreed to construct airport on the land adjoining the air force station on Jagadhri road in Ambala Cantonment.

In December 2018, the civil airport project was approved but the project has been hanging fire ever since, as the land for the project was not finalised. The runway of the air force station is to be used for the airport. It will have flights for Srinagar and Lucknow.

As per information, Ambala Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar, Air Officer Commanding Prashant Arya along with officials from the air force, Cantonment Board Ambala, Civil Aviation, Revenue Department and other district officials held a meeting in Ambala on Tuesday evening and agreed to use the land near Mama-Bhanja Peer, adjoining the air force station for the airport.

While one gate of the airport will be towards Jagadhri road, the other gate will open inside the air force station. The officials of civil aviation who were present in the meeting have been asked to prepare and submit their project report so that it could be forwarded to the higher authorities.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma said “A civil airport was approved for Ambala Cantonment and efforts were being made to identify and finalise a suitable land for the project. A detailed discussion has been held with the officials concerned regarding the airport project.”

State Home and Health Minister Anil Vij has been taking a keen interest in the project and he has repeatedly raised the issue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Vij held a meeting with the Defence Minister in February and sought his intervention in the issue pertaining to land requirement for a domestic airport in Ambala.

Speaking to The Tribune, Home Minister Anil Vij said, “All stakeholders have principally agreed on the land identified on the Jagadhri road. It is a 15-acre defence land. The air force has agreed to give passage for the runway. The land will be transferred to the Haryana Government and the state government will pay the cost of the land. We have asked the Civil Aviation Department to prepare and submit the project report. We have taken defence land in the past too for Civil Hospital. After getting approval from the Ministry of Defence, the project will be started. If everything goes right, the airport will be ready in a couple of years. The land identified is suitable for the project as it is near the national highway, bus stand and railway station.”