Budgetary cuts to impact civil aviation projects in the country's north-east region
03 May 2008
New Delhi: Drastic cuts in the civil aviation ministry's funds outlay by the Planning Commission may result in several on-going projects in the north-eastern region (NER) being put into cold storage, including an ambitious project to put Sikkim onto the country's air map.
The annual Plan outlay, as proposed by the civil aviation ministry, was pegged at Rs10,170.27 crore, including budgetary support of Rs328.94 crore. Against this projection, the Planning Commission has approved a reduced outlay of Rs10,031 crore for the current fiscal (2008-2009).
Ministry officials confirm that the cuts are likely to hit the proposed greenfield airport project at Pekyong, Sikkim, as the approved budgetary support component of Rs190 crore does not include an outlay of Rs45 crore, proposed to be given as grant for the project.
A Parliamentary panel, which examined the demands for grants for the civil aviation ministry, has said that the reduction in budgetary support to the ministry would definitely have a negative impact on the expansion of aviation sector in the north-eastern region.
