RTI query nails Haryana's claims about airports at Karnal, Hisar

Chandigarh:  While Haryana may have claimed to build civil airports in Karnal and Hisar, it has emerged that the state government never approached ministry of civil aviation to speed up process of feasibility survey and other formalities required before setting up airports after making an announcement on July 31, 2013. Haryana government claimed to have obtained in-principle approval from the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) for setting up two airports at the existing airfields of Karnal and Hisar, information received through RTI Act query reveals to the contrary.

Information sourced through RTI Act that no such letter was written by the state government to the Union civil aviation ministry and the development of airports at Hisar and Karnal was not under consideration of the Centre. Karnal-based advocate and RTI activist Rajesh Sharma had sought information about Haryana government's efforts to set up the airports from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).


It was, however, clarified by AAI in response to the query that there was a proposal of the state government to set up green field cargo airport near Rohtak, hometown of Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for which the local MO and CM's son Deepender Hooda had approached it through the ministry of civil aviation.
Read news in full 20/06/14 Ajay Sura/Times of India