UP faces problems over ‘Taj airport’

The Uttar Pradesh government's idea behind an international airport in or around Agra may have been to avoid the hurdles that the Jewar international airport proposed by the former Mayawati government had to face. However, its task may not be easy.

Unlike the Jewar airport that was not cleared by the Centre mainly because it was within 150 km of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, the proposed 'Taj international airport' would be required to keep a safe distance from not just one but several establishments.

Being planned in the Mathura-Agra region, it has to bear in mind three world heritage sites — Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort — as well as three Air Force bases — Kheria in Agra, Hindon in Ghaziabad and a third in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, all falling within 100 km of the Agra-Mathura region.

The proposed airport would not just have to maintain some distance from these IAF bases but also ensure its airstrip does not fall in the same line as these airports. The proposed airport can also neither be near the Mathura refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation nor Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan, which is hardly 55 km from Agra.

The sites considered by the Akhilesh Yadav government in Mathura don't fit the bill as the distance to the Indira Gandhi International Airport would then again be less than 150 km.

A consultant will be appointed to select a site taking into view all considerations, apart from availability of land that doesn't lie with farmers.

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