Malda, Oct. 13: The Airports Authority of India has ruled out the modernisation of the airport here as several high-rises and cellphone towers have come up in the vicinity making flight operations unsafe, Malda MP Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury said.

The AAI has also said the existing runway could not be extended as several acres of airport land were illegally occupied. It has asked the Malda district administration to look for alternative sites for an airport.

The residents of Malda have been clamouring for an airport for one decade. The AAI officials had visited Malda many times to inspect the site. Several crores of rupees were spent to erect a boundary wall around the existing site.

Abu Hashem said: “The AAI says as several new buildings have been constructed near the airport, flight operations will be dangerous. I have already expressed my anxiety to civil aviation minister Praful Patel. ”

The Congress MP of Malda South said the AAI had proposed that the airport’s land be sold off and the money be used to build a new one. He added that he had invited Patel to visit Malda soon.

District magistrate Sridhar Ghosh said the administration was looking for land at Narayanpur, about 10km from Malda town, for the airport although it “did not officially receive any communication” from the AAI.

“The proposal for the shift is practical as there are high-rises and mobile phone towers around the airport,” said Ghosh.

The MP said there would be no problems in getting land for the proposed airport. “A lot of land is vacant at Narayanpur in Old Malda.”

Officer-in-charge of the existing airport Shekhar Kumar said he had not received any communication from the AAI that the renovation was not viable. He alleged that over 10 acres of the airport had been encroached.