NEW DELHI:A war of words broke out between former Union minister P Chidambaram and Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia over the issue of opening Airports in the country.
The matter started when Chidambaram, citing a media report, claimed that claims by the present government of opening 74 airports in the last seven years are hollow and untrue. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government managed to open just 11 new airports since 2014.
Chidambaram tweeted, โThe 74 โairportsโ include nine helicopter stations and two waterdromes. The waterdromes closed down soon after the โinaugurationโ! Out of the 74 โairportsโ, 15 are no longer in use because there are no flights! The BJP-NDA government launched 479 new โroutesโ. Out of these, 225 are no longer in operation!โ
The claims of the government that they had built โ74 airports in the last 7 yearsโ are hollow and untrue
Only 11 new airports were built since May 2014 and which are operational
The 74 โairportsโ include 9 helicopter stations and two waterdromes. The waterdromes closed downโฆ
โ P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 30, 2023
Scindia was quick to react as he tweeted, โPChidambaram_IN Ji, clearly,fact checking is not the current Congressโ strong suit. Desperation for survival and relevance has hit senior, discerning leaders such as yourself. Please do not perpetuate half-baked truths!โ
In a detailed tweet, Scindia replied to Chidambaram in six points, where he said, โ1. The Govt. under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, has โoperationalisedโ 74 airports, some of which had been lying unutilised for decades & were national liabilities, thanks to zero initiative taken by the previous UPA govts! Therefore, the list of 74 includes, both, erstwhile unutilized airports, as well as new airports.โ
He said the government, under the Greenfield Airports Policy 2008, has operationalised 12 Airports in the country since 2015. Operations in Hirasar (inaugurated this week) will begin shortly. โFor your information, only 3 greenfield airports were built in the last 65 years,โ Scindia said.
1. The Govt. under the visionary leadership of PM Modi has โoperationalisedโ 74 airports, some of which had been lying unutilized for decades & were national liabilities, thanks to zero initiative taken by the previous UPA govts! Therefore, the list of 74 includes, both,โฆ https://t.co/RivHygyqys
โ Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 30, 2023
The Union Minister said, โOperation of a route is completely dependent on market demand (airlines assess the feasibility of operation on a particular route and bid under the scheme).โ
โAirport infrastructure can be utilised as and when demand picks up. Also, as airlines create capacities and demand for air travel picks up, many discontinued routes are being bid for again by airlines under new rounds of the UDAN scheme,โ Scindia added.
โUnder the UDAN scheme, 74 Airports/Heliports/Water Aerodromes have been revived/upgraded and operationalised since the inception of the scheme,โ he added.
More than 1.23 crore people and 2.23 lakh flights have flown under the UDAN scheme โ the possibility of which was NIL during the UPA regime. And thatโs a FACT that canโt be washed away by sensationalist Twitter posts,โ Scindia said.
He further said the governmentโs efforts in building 74 airports/Heliports/water aerodromes demonstrate its commitment to expanding infrastructure and accessibility to remote areas and supporting regional development. Most of these airports are the only source of direct connectivity with far-flung cities, such as Darbhanga, Jharsuguda, Jamshedpur, Rourkela etc. The UDAN scheme is also the sole reason behind the birth of many regional airlines that cater to such routes.
Scindia said, โThese developments have involved incurring unprecedented capital investment โ almost โน75000 crores in the last 10 years โ which is directly linked to the growth of employment in the country and has a deep social impact apart from meeting the growing aspirations of all the strata of society to undertake air travel.โ
โWhat earlier governments failed to achieve in 70 years has been achieved in merely 9 years,โ he summed up.
