GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Sunday decided to hand over 3,000 bighas of land at Doloo Tea Estate in Cachar district to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the construction of a greenfield airport, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Sarma said the panel approved an increase of 500 bighas from the earlier decision to allocate 2,500 bighas (826.45 acres) for the proposed airport near Silchar.
“The cabinet approved the transfer of 3,000 bighas at Doloo Tea Estate in Silchar to the AAI for the construction of a greenfield airport,” Sarma said, adding that the decision will pave the way for obtaining the Union Cabinet’s nod for the project.
The State government had proposed a new airport in Silchar spread over 2,500 bighas, as the existing facility at Kumbhirgram is a defence airport and expansion of the facility to accommodate the increasing demands of air traffic is not possible.
In November 2022, the Assam government had distributed financial assistance to 1,296 families living at Doloo Tea Estate “as a goodwill gesture”.
Earlier that year, a controversy had arisen over the state government’s efforts to acquire land for setting a greenfield airport with the then Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia claiming that no such proposal was received for the facility from the BJP-led state.
It was later clarified that the land was being acquired at AAI’s request.
Because of the confusion, land acquisition at the tea estate for the airport had led to protests by the garden workers, but the government assured that no worker would be evicted from their homes and there would be no job loss.
The State government had previously announced a compensation of ₹50 crore for the acquisition of land at Doloo, Lalbagh, and Mainagarh tea gardens for setting up the greenfield airport.
In June this year, Sarma had said a public hearing was completed at Doloo Tea Estate. The workers, under the aegis of Asom Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU), expressed unhappiness and demanded the government to return the acquired land or allot the same amount of land at a different place for growing tea.
