GUWAHATI, July 12? The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is spending over Rs 30 crore per year for arranging adequate security cover in all operational airports in the North Eastern region, while it is incurring heavy losses from its operations in the region. The Regional Executive Director of AAI, Sri Srikrishan informed newsmen here that in view of the security threat in the insurgency-hit north eastern region, AAI has to avail of ?very expensive? service of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to look after security in airports at Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Bagdogra and Agartala. AAI has to cough up about Rs 2.5 crore per month to pay the CISF, whose personnel will be deployed in a few more airports in the region soon.
AAI pays Rs 39 lakh per year to maintain ?Watch and Ward? staff comprising ex-servicemen in all those N-E airports not manned by the CISF, while another Rs 1.63 crore is spent to bear the cost of anti-hijacking security arranged by respective State governments in those airports sans CISF personnel. The AAI has a total of 23 airports in the region out of which only 13 are operational while the rest are closed. It has been incurring heavy losses in the N-E region for consecutive years and the figure of loss for the year 2000-01 was Rs 63.96 crore and all the operational airports in the region including the International airport at Guwahati are making losses for the Authority.
However, the AAI has remained underterred in its efforts to improve facilities in N-E airports despite loss. In the Tenth Plan period a total of Rs 309.89 crore has been earmarked for various airport development projects in the region and the Central Government will share the financial burden through the North Eastern Council. Development/improvement projects are under way in airports at Agartala, Shillong (Umroi), Dimapur, Imphal, Lilabari, Bagdogra, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat and Silchar. Besides these, four new airports are either constructed or awaiting commissioning at Lengpui (Mizoram), Tura, Itanagar and Pekyong (Sikkim).
Out of the new airports the one at Lengpui was commissioned in December, 1998 while the one at Tura was completed in December 2000 but could not be commissioned as extremist elements snatched away equipment and fittings from the airport. Now, the Government of Meghalaya has been asked by the AAI to provide adequate security in Tura airport so that it could be commissioned. However, the AAI Regional Executive Director admitted that all the projects in a the N-E had suffered from 25-100 per cent cost escalation due to delay in their implementation by outside agencies like? the rites and CPWD. The escalation of cost regarding construction of the new terminal building at Guwahati airport which was executed by the CPWD, was about 40 per cent.
?The AAI has learnt a very costly lesson from the delaying project implementation and subsequent cost escalation and now decided to implement all future projects in the region itself to avoid the same,? Srikrishan said. He informed that the Imphal airport project was implemented by the AAI itself and it could be completed before time while there was no escalation of cost. Talking about the Bodo leaders? demand for three airports at Rupsi, Kokrajhar and Udalguri, the AAI official informed that a feasibility study regarding these was being carried out by a high-powered committee of the Government of India. The condition of the now closed Rupsi airport in Dhubri was stated to be beyond repair and it has become a den of ultras and miscreants.