New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that his government has accorded top priority to the development of the Jewar International Airport in Noida.
The speed of execution of the Noida International Airport project near Jewar in the Gautam Buddh Nagar despite the prolonged Covid lockdown reflects the new work culture of Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi said.
It has been decided to increase the number of airstrips from two to six at this airport, he informed.
The chief minister made this remark on the occasion of the inking of the state support agreement between the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited and the Noida International Airport Limited, a subsidiary of the Zurich Airport International AG, the developer chosen for the development of the airport.
On the occasion, the chief minister also reviewed the progress of the project and expressed his government’s resolve to complete it on a priority basis.
Underlining the importance that the state government accords to the Jewar airport, the chief minister said the project was lying pending with previous governments for almost 30 years, but his government decided in March 2017 itself to prioritise it in the interest of the state and the country.
Recalling that there were only two operational airports – Lucknow and Varanasi — in the state in 2017, the chief minister said barely three years later, however, it now has seven airports – Agra, Hindon, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Bareilly – besides those of Lucknow and Varanasi.
“Not only this, The country’s largest state had only two international airports earlier – Lucknow and Varanasi. But it will soon have five international airports, including the upcoming ones in Jewar, Ayodhya and Kushinagar near Gorakhpur,” he added.
The chief minister said he is of the view that good connectivity expedites the development process.
“The process of operationalization of altogether 21 airports is underway in UP. This effort will be to make UP soar in the field of civil aviation,” he said.
While reviewing the progress in the execution of Jewar airport, Adityanath also appreciated the work of Zurich Airport International AG and assured its representatives of all possible help from the government in expediting the project.
On the occasion, the chief minister also reviewed the progress in the rehabilitation of the people displaced due to the development of the Jewar airport.
Owing to some areas of the village Rehi coming in the way of the development of the Jewar airport runways, the chief minister opined that the villagers from those areas should be vacated first.
He also asked officials to enforce a better rehabilitation mechanism for the displaced people without inconveniencing them.
He also advised setting up a committee headed by the Meerut divisional commissioner for rehabilitating displaced people and said this committee should also be having a retired judge or an IAS officer as the observer of the rehabilitation process.
With the chief minister batting for a better mechanism for the rehabilitation process, the Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrate informed him that the administration has acquired over 48 hectares of land in the Jewar Bangar area for the rehabilitation of the displaced people.
