Captain Mathur revealed his plan, based on the infrastructure at the Frankfurt airport, at a press conference organised by the anti-airport lobbyists of Rewas-Mandwa today.

``The government is trying to construct a new airport at Rewas-Mandwa at an estimated cost of US $ 3.5 billion, a decision which would be environmentally hazardous and also lead to the eviction of 30,000 residents of 14 villages...``It would be a real travesty of justice if on the one hand the illegal hutments and other businesses are allowed to remain at the same place and on the other hand, thousands of legitimate villagers are uprooted from Rewas-Mandwa to make way for the new airport. The government should rather think of developing this area as a goodhinterland for the supply of vegetables, fruits, flowers, fish and poultry to Mumbai,'' he added.

Dismissing fears that the existing passenger and traffic handling capacity at Mumbai airport will be exhausted in a few years from now, Capt Mathur pointed out: ``The international air traffic has in fact reduced at the Mumbai airport following the segregation of routes to the international airports at Goa, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Thiruvananthpuram, Calicut, Hyderabad and Bangalore.''

Captain Mathur stated that his plan can work only if the encroachment upon 160 acres of airport land - the stated reason for the second airport - is removed first. He suggested that once the area is freed of encroachments, the existing hangars, maintenance area and office buildings of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), A-I and the Indian Air Force could be shifted there, leaving enough room for the construction of a new runway of equal length to the south side of the existing main runway.

The alternate runway, which has becomenon-operational because of the controversial Air Traffic Control tower, could be used for parking aircraft.

Alternatively, Capt Mathur suggested the construction of a ``slightly shorter'' new runway to the south of the existing runway, which will require the shifting of the Leela Kempinski hotel, the police station, the flight kitchens and the housing colonies of the Airports Authority of India and the Indian Airlines. He said the existing longer runway could be used for take-off of the long-haul aircraft and the new smaller runway could be used for the take-off of the short and medium-haul aircraft and landing for all types of aircraft.

Pesi Damri and George John, on behalf of Rewas Alibag Mandwa Association (RAMA), said they are considering filing a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court ``if all our efforts to stop the project fails.

fail.''Damri expressed surprise that the AAI had recently constituted a 30-member committee to look into the feasibility of the project, a majoritybelonging to AAI with no representation for the environmentalists.