VPP MP seek Centre’s intervention to make Shillong Airport operational to its optimum capacity

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 26, 2024

The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) MP from Shillong Ricky AJ Syngkon has sought the intervention of the Centre for making the Shillong Airport operationalize to its optimum capacity.

In a letter shot to the Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Friday, Syngkon said, “…I request you to kindly take up this matter of great importance so that this vital airport of the state becomes operationalize to its optimum capacity.”

He said that the Shillong Airport has been in existence since the 1970s and is the only airport that is functional and more or less consistent in its operation after the installation of the ILS around the year 2019.

The MP also said that a recent news report that appeared in section of the print media that “Judges and officials of the Meghalaya High Court visited Paro Airport in Bhutan to ascertain the possibility of adopting the same modus operandi being followed in Bhutan in order to facilitate larger and sizeable aircrafts to land and take off in the Shillong Airport” – was indeed a big surprise that esteemed members from the Judicial system with a deep sense of concern to development have taken up te onus of helping the state in developing its only operational airport.

“I understand that land measuring around 224 acres was acquired almost 15 years ago for extension of runway for bigger aircrafts to land at the cost of prime agricultural land, displacement of hundreds of villages and loss of livelihood, dismantling of school buildings, houses and churches etc, all for the sake of development,” he said while adding that the state government has spent crores of rupees for the cost of land acquisition and compensation.

“However, the project has not taken off which is indeed strange to the people of the state considering the great potential this airport can contribute towards economic upliftment of the state especially when one considers Meghalaya as one of the top tourist destinations of both domestic and even foreign tourist. In fact, by now it should have been an airport of international status,” he said

“From the above points, it appears to me, that on one hand no indepth feasibility study (prior to land acquisition and compensation) had been undertaken for the same by subject experts, while on the other hand, the state government took a rather bold but unwise decision to go ahead with land acquisition and compensation otherwise this issue would have been resolved  by this time,” the MP said.

“To me as a public representative, this is a serious matter that must be taken and looked into with all seriousness and sincerity as it involves loss of public money, loss of property and livelihood of many innocent farmers and causing inconvenience t many people who have to go all the way to Guwahati to travel to other parts of the country and it is a great loss to the state,” he added.