The proposed extension of the runway of Mysuru airport, pending since many years, has been mentioned in the State Budget presented by the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.
However, it is a passing mention and Mr.Bommai said that the runway will be extended with assistance from the Central Government. There is no financial commitment or funds specifically earmarked for the purpose and this has led to mixed feelings among the stakeholders.
A section of stakeholders have averred that it is premature to celebrate the announcement because the project requires about 260 acres of land which has to be acquired from the farmers and bulk of the funds have to be made for land acquisition purpose. Besides, many announcements made in the previous budgets have gone unimplemented, said the stakeholders.
Suresh Kumar Jain of MSME Council, Mysuru said that the budget is not clear on who will fund the project because it only states that the runway will be extended with assistance from the Centre. The local farmers have already fixed the rate ranging from ₹1.4 crore to ₹1.6 crore per acre and the runway extension and airport development projects require ₹390 crore to start with.
‘’Had there been a specific allocation then it would be something to cheer but this is only an expression of intent without any timeframe’’, he added.
Prashant of Federation of Organisations and Associations of Mysuru (FOAM) said they will take a delegation under Mysuru MP Pratap Simha for release of funds during this financial year. ‘’Funds allotted to various communities will not be utilised in one go and hence we will request the CM to allot a portion of the money to runway extension so that the work can get started’’, he said.
However, Mr.Pratap Simha has thanked the CM for conceding the long-pending demand of the people of Mysuru and said that it would help boost both tourism and investment and trigger growth of the city. Coupled with the Expressway Corridor slated for completion by October this year, the connectivity to the region will improve and give a fillip to the overall development of the region, he said.
He said the Chief Minister has announced his commitment and the amount would be released once the Cabinet note on the proejct is ready.
The runway extension is crucial for operate long-haul flights from Mysuru which is at present served by short-haul ATR type of aircraft that can carry around 72 to 75 passengers including the crew and fly only short distances. Though stakeholders from commerce, industry and tourism have sought long-haul flights providing direct connectivity to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and other places the short runway – of 1740 metress – does not facilitate the operation of Boeing and Airbus planes from Mysuru. Hence the proposal to extend the runway to 2,400 metres which is pending since many years.
At present there are flights from Mysuru to Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kochi and the passenger occupancy is returning to pre-pandemic levels with about 85 per cent occupancy.
