External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj plants a sapling at the inauguration of the Nalanda University in Rajgir on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday backed the state government’s proposal to set up an airport in Nalanda.

Inaugurating the Nalanda University, Sushma said the varsity would be developed into an international centre of excellence. She said an airport would be a necessity at Nalanda because people from across the globe would visit the seat of learning.

“An airport is necessary at Nalanda. If people come to the varsity from outside, the only option with them at present is Patna airport (around 110km from the varsity site at Rajgir). If an airport comes up here only, they would not face much hassle in travelling,” said Sushma.

Addressing the gathering during the varsity’s inaugural function earlier, chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said around 1,200-1,400 acres of land was available at Nalanda, which could be used for development of the proposed airport.

Manjhi said: “The state government would hold a meeting with the Union civil aviation ministry in a couple of days on the issue of setting up the new airport at Nalanda. On this auspicious occasion (of inauguration of the Nalanda University), I would appeal to the external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, to persuade the civil aviation ministry to accept our proposal for the new airport.”

Senior officials in the state civil aviation directorate confirmed that a letter had been sent to the Union civil aviation ministry to hold a meeting in this regard on September 20. “The role of the central government in setting up a new international airport is crucial. According to the tentative plan, the state government has fixed September 30 for holding the meeting with senior officials from the Centre. A reply from the Centre is still awaited,” said captain Deepak Kumar Singh, director (operation)–cum–chief pilot, state directorate of civil aviation.

This is not the first time that the state government has pitched for an airport in Nalanda. In February 2011, it had written a letter to the chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) expressing its willingness to provide 1,200 acres of land in Silao circle of Nalanda district, around 105km southeast of Patna, for setting up a new airport.

The AAI did not accept the proposal claiming that it had asked for 4,800 acres of land for setting up the airport in Nalanda and it was not possible for it to move ahead with the state government offering just 1,200 acres.

Nalanda had figured in the list of one of the prospective sites for setting up a substitute for the existing airport in Patna. The two other places in the list were Bihta and Punpun. A team from the AAI had visited Bihar in October 2009 for inspecting the three proposed sites. It rejected Punpun citing it was a low-lying area. The team had given the first preference to Bihta air base, around 35km from Patna. The second preference was given to Nalanda.

Extra land

Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said a proposal to offer 100 acres of additional land to Nalanda University would soon be tabled before the state cabinet. The varsity would be free to take it whenever needed.

The state government has provided 452 acres of land at Rajgir for the development of Nalanda University campus for free. Boundary wall has been constructed all around the varsity site, around 12.5km from the ancient Nalanda University ruins.