Patna, Feb. 27: The toss-up between Bihta and Nalanda as the site for the prospective airport alternative to Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport continues.

The state government is clueless about its own policy and is at loggerheads with the Centre over the issue.

Though the proposed master plan for Patna has suggested that the new airport be developed in Punpun block near Bihta-Sarmera road, the state, in its budget for financial year 2016-17 tabled on Friday, earmarked 1,397 acres for the alternative airport in Silao block of Nalanda district - the home turf of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The ministry of civil aviation, on the other hand, has been keen on using the Bihta airbase as an alternative to Patna airport by commencing civil operations from there. It has been the preferred location for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) from 2009, since talks for developing an alternative airport for Patna began. Even the air force has approved civil operations from there. As a return favour, it requested for starting defence operations from Gaya international airport.

Overlooking the Centre's preference for Bihta as the alternative airport, finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, in his budget speech made in the Assembly on Friday, announced that land had been earmarked at Silao for development of a greenfield airport as the alternative.

In February 2011, the state had written a letter to the AAI chairman, offering 1,200 acres in Silao circle of Nalanda district, around 80km southeast of Patna, for the new airport. The AAI, however, did not accept the proposal, claiming that it had asked for 4,800 acres to set up the airport in Nalanda and not just 1,200 acres.

Aviation experts too claimed that the proposal of developing the alternative airport in Nalanda did not command viability. "Nalanda is not a viable option to develop the alternative airport for varied reasons. Patna is not like IT hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad, where people would travel long distances to reach the airport. Moreover, the state would have to create territory economic activities near the proposed airport location in Nalanda to make it financially sustainable. However, Bihta's distance is half of that from Nalanda and it is already developing as an industrial hub," said Mirza Faizan, an aviation scientist settled in US.

Nalanda had figured in the list of prospective sites to build the new airport, Bihta and Punpun did. A team from the AAI had visited Bihar in October 2009 to inspect three proposed sites.

While the team had rejected Punpun for being low-lying, the team had given first preference to the Bihta airbase followed by Nalanda.

Considering the delay in finalisation of the alternative airport's location, the AAI has begun working on measures to sustain flight operations at the existing airport for at least 10 more years.

After a gap of nearly three years, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) granted Patna airport airdrome licence on February 15. The AAI is also working on other plans for extension of the runway and terminal building at the existing airport.

By bending the existing runway by 14 degrees, its length would be extended from the existing 6,500ft to 9,000ft. This will allow bigger aircraft like Boeing 777 to operate.