Differences between bureaucrats at the Centre and state over who will prepare request for qualification (RFQ) and request for proposal (RFP), due to which the project has been in limbo for over a year, have ended and the state will now take the lead. It has to, however, keep the Centre in the loop.
The matter was resolved at a meeting between officials of central government, Airport Authority of India and the state.
Chief secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia said, “We will move forward with RFQ and RFP at the state level.
Whenever approvals are needed for mangroves, forest land, etc, matters will be taken to the central government. It has to be a collaborative effort and we are taking steps to expedite the project.
“A new committee has been formed to relook at old RFQ.”
A project monitoring committee of the state government had cleared RFQ documents in December 2011, after which CIDCO, the nodal body for the proposed airport, had hoped bids could be invited by January 15, 2012, after a final nod from a central steering committee.
If RFQ documents had been issued in January 2012, a private developer for the project could be finalised by June 2012, CIDCO had expected.
Later, when the steering committee met and saw the RFQ presentation by CIDCO officials, its members reportedly felt the state government could give the final go-ahead to RFQ documents.
However, state bureaucrats pointed out that a cabinet decision had empowered the steering committee to take a final decision.