Centre to Prioritise NOC Once Jharkhand Submits Airport Papers
Key Points:
- MP submits memorandum over delayed Dhalbhumgarh airport proposal
- Centre assures priority NOC once Jharkhand resubmits documents
- Meeting also addresses human-elephant conflict in Chakulia belt
NEW DELHI – Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato held a meeting with Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi. He pressed for faster clearance of the long-pending Dhalbhumgarh Airport project.
Mahato submitted a memorandum to Yadav during the meeting. He flagged that the airport proposal had been sent back to the state government nearly eleven months ago.
The proposal was returned over missing documents, Mahato said. However, the Jharkhand government has yet to furnish the required papers even now.
The MP said he has recently held discussions with the Divisional Forest Officer and the state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests on the matter. Moreover, he urged the Centre not to send the file back again over minor gaps.
Instead, Mahato asked that the ministry directly seek any missing information from the state government. “We cannot afford another year of delay on this airport,” Mahato said.
Yadav agreed to the MP’s suggestion during the meeting. Besides Yadav, Director General of Forests Sushil Awasthi also held talks with the delegation.
The minister assured that the ministry would fast-track the No Objection Certificate once Jharkhand’s proposal arrives. In addition, he said the process would be completed on a priority basis.
Awasthi said Jharkhand’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, A.T. Mishra, would forward the necessary documents to the Centre on the state’s behalf. The ministry will then complete its examination swiftly, he added.
The meeting also covered the elephant corridor issue in the Chakulia area. Awasthi said security and conservation measures in the affected zones are being strengthened.
Meanwhile, a joint coordination meeting involving Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh will soon be held. It aims to find a lasting solution to the human-elephant conflict, officials said.
Mahato criticised the trend of converting forest land into parks. He said resorts and guesthouses built inside forests are disrupting elephant corridors and natural habitats.
On the other hand, he suggested that parks be built on fallow or wasteland instead of forest land. Awasthi assured that the department would look into such concerns.
Yadav also announced a scheme worth around Rs 500 crore for elephant conservation across the four states. A separate meeting on this initiative will be convened soon, he said.
Senior officials from Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh are expected to attend that meeting. They will work out a coordinated, long-term strategy for the conflict, according to the minister.
The Jamshedpur MP has been vocal on the airport’s delay in Parliament in the past. Officials from the forest department reiterated that fresh proposals from the state would be examined without delay once received.
Further coordination between the central and state governments is expected in the coming weeks on both the airport clearance and the elephant conservation scheme.
