New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday pulled up Airports Authority of India (AAI) for inordinate delay in construction of a 3-km road stretch at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. Addressing an event here, Gadkari further said the authority has been trying to construct the road at Nagpur airport for the last 21 months, but it has not yet been completed.
"In the first year, the AAI sent notices to all airlines, resulting in reduced numbers of flights at Nagpur airport and increase in prices of air tickets by 1.5 times. So people of Nagpur had to pay an additional Rs 60-70 crore," the Nagpur MP, who is known for his frank views said.
Gadkari said after a year, when he enquired, the AAI officials told him that they delayed the construction of road by 6 months as there were the Maharashtra assembly elections and senior BJP leaders (Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis) used to fly from Nagpur frequently. The minister said he told AAI officials that state-owned NHAI would have constructed that road in three days.
He wondered if it will take three years to construct a 3-km road then how then how India would improve its infrastructure. The Maharashtra assembly elections were held on November 20,2024.
