Mayavati

New Delhi, Feb. 4: An airport of love has run into “legal issues” of hate.

Mayavati’s pet project, the airport at Greater Noida, has emerged as the fidelity test of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s love-hate relationship with the Centre.

After the Union cabinet had given its in-principle approval during the love phase, the government has now referred the Rs 3,505-crore Taj International Aviation Hub project to a group of ministers to sort out “certain legal issues”.

In other words, sources said, an indefinite delay.

The decision to refer the project to the ministerial group was taken as the Centre’s relations with the BSP leader touched a new low over Mayavati’s demand for SPG security and Delhi’s refusal to grant it.

The group, headed by finance minister P. Chidambaram, met on January 31. “Various issues were examined but no conclusion could be reached. The GoM will meet again soon,” an official in the civil aviation ministry said.

The other members of the group include civil aviation minister Praful Patel, science and technology minister Kapil Sibal and law minister H.R. Bhardwaj. “The law ministry will prepare a note on the project,” the official added.

Some legal issues had cropped up after the GMR group, which is modernising Indira Gandhi International Airport, objected to the cabinet go-ahead for the 3,700-acre Greater Noida site about 70km from the Delhi facility.

GMR claimed that Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a joint venture between the group and the Airport Authority of India, was not told that a second airport would be built within a 150-km radius.

Under existing rules, no international airport can come up within 150km of another.

Sources said the group voiced fears over loss of business and revenue to the new airport. According to an estimate, the proposed airport will take 5 per cent passengers and 8 per cent cargo traffic away from the Delhi airport in the first phase.

“These issues are being looked into by the GoM. The recent souring of ties between the Centre and Mayavati are bound to introduce its own undercurrents to the process,” the civil aviation official said.

Other sources, however, said it would all boil down to the Centre’s equation with Mayavati. “It’s true that a second airport cannot come up within 150km of an existing one, but approvals can be granted in special cases,” a senior aviation official said.

Moreover, the official added, the cabinet note on the Greater Noida project says “the Centre has, at no stage, given any traffic guarantee to DIAL”. Nor was there any “contractual agreement” on exclusive rights for the IGI airport.

So approval would ultimately depend on whether the Centre wants to keep Mayavati in good humour or not.