MUMBAI, May 29: Is it shortage of space or political expediency that is preventing the remodelling of the Mumbai airport?

The country's premier international airport, sitting on over 2,000 acres of prime land, is sought to be moved elsewhere on the ground that it will be inadequate to handle fresh capacity in the new century. But a sustained campaign against the project from residents of Rewas-Mandwa near the Alibag beach resort, where the new airport is proposed to be built, has resulted in fresh suggestions to remodel the existing one.

Adding to the problem is the question of relocating a large number of squatters on airport land.

Former Air-India managing director D S Mathur suggests the construction of a proper second runway for Mumbai airport after certain structures are relocated in the premises.

Of the two alternatives he has mooted, the first is a runway parallel to the existing runway 09/27. This would necessitate the shifting of Air-India's hangars and maintenance facilities. ``With a length of 12,500 ft, this runway can easily accommodate the new-generation aircraft,'' says Mathur.

His other alternative is to construct the second runway on the northern side between the international terminal and the Kalina campus university grounds. The airport's flight kitchens and the Sahar police station will have to make room. But the area where they can be moved has been overrun by thousands of slum-dwellers.

The encroachers with active help from local legislators have grabbed nearly 150 acres of land belonging to the Airports Authority of India including plots in the centre of the airport premises (see map).

With the announcement of the Slum Redevelopment Scheme (SRD), the administration doesn't even perform lip service about evicting the encroachers. ``If they can't protect their land from encroachers, the AAI will have to spend on rehabilitating them,'' a former official connected with the scheme admitted.

Emboldened by the government stand, the slum-dwellers are gradually expanding their hold on the airport's land. Encroachers in the Andheri area have even come together under the banner of the Airports Area Development Federation to demand water and power connections from the municipal corporation.

According to the development plan for the Mumbai metropolitan region drafted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority , the aircraft-handling capacity of Mumbai airport cannot be increased due to the location of both its runways. Since the two intersect one another, they cannot be used simultaneously for take-offs and landings.

According to AAI studies, annual passenger traffic at Mumbai airport (domestic and international) is poised to touch 44.76 million passengers by 2010, an annual growth of between six and eight per cent. In addition, AAI officials point out that the capacity of the terminal buildings at the international airport complex will reach saturation point by the end of this decade. This is, however, countered by observers who note that the number of international passengers touching Mumbai will fall as more airports in the country achieve international status.

Interestingly, Mathur also advocates the allocation of day-time slots for foreign airlines touching Mumbai airport. At present, most flights originating or terminating in the developed countries touch Mumbai at night since take-offs and landings at night are not permitted on many foreign locations.

If efforts to remodel the existing Mumbai airport proves successful, it could save the country more than US $3 billion in construction costs alone.

This is in addition to expenditure worth thousands of crores incurred on linking the mainland (by bridge or underground tunnel) to any of the proposed airport sites in Mandwa-Rewas, Nhava Sheva, or Dadar-Pen.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.