New Delhi:
For the first time, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has hinted that the Navi Mumbai airport could evolve from a massive dispute between different branches of the government to the city's much-needed second airport.
"There will be an agreement," said Ramesh today. "Our team is going to Navi Mumbai on 21st and 22nd. I have talked to Praful Patel and I hope that we make a compromise soon."
The middle ground is likely to include moving the runways to ensure the river Gadhi in the area is not affected.
In the past few months, the project appeared to be caught in a loop of charges traded between the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Maharashtra state government and the Environment Ministry. Ramesh stressed that the reports submitted by the state government did not provide the information he had requested; Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said development could not be sacrificed for ecological concerns; and the state government appealed to the Prime Minister for help.
The new airport is planned 20 km away from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, and is scheduled to begin operations in 2013. It's expected to handle an additional 60 million passengers a year.
The original plans for the airport, according to environmental studies, would have risked 400 acres of mangroves and necessitated the diversion of two rivers which could trigger massive floods. (
Read: Navi Mumbai airport: Maharashtra's new pitch)
The environment ministry had asked the Maharashtra government to look at three other sites. None of those are feasible, says the government, because of their proximity to the Sahyradri mountains.
Also read: Praful Vs Ramesh over Navi Mumbai airport