Malda, July 26: The district administration will extend all cooperation to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) so that it can introduce air services from here.

A report prepared by the administration to be sent to the AAI also promises to hand over 1 sq km land so that the runway for the airstrip can be expanded.

The administration today conducted a joint inspection of site with officials of departments like land and land revenue, fire brigade, municipality and panchayat.

District magistrate Abhijit Chowdhury, additional district magistrate Bhabani Prasad Barat and MLA of Englishbazar Samar Roy also visited the area and held a meeting in the office building of the proposed airstrip.

?We can assess how much land belonging to the AAI has been occupied by illegal settlers only after the railways demarcate their land. The rehabilitation department, which had taken some portion of the land on lease from the AAI, has been asked to produce its papers,? the district magistrate said.

A five-member team of the AAI, headed by deputy general manager of the planning division J.P. Alex, had come to Malda on February 17 and pointed out that high-rise buildings within a radius of one-km from the airstrip would create problems for aircraft. Besides, there are mobile towers and numerous brick kilns in the vicinity of the airstrip.

According to officer-in-charge of the airstrip, Shekhar Kumar Chanda, the existing runway is 1500 m long. It is in bad shape and has to be extended to at least 18,000 metres to run small aircraft. The airstrip is built on a 151-acre plot of land.

The Alex committee had proposed that the high-tension overhead lines be shifted underground.

According to Chanda, the construction of the boundary alone would cost Rs 2 crore. Land acquisition and other expenses will cost Rs 25 crore to 30 crore.

?Both the eastern and western sides have to be cleared of illegal occupants,? Chanda said.

The district magistrate said it would not be possible to clear settlers who are allegedly occupying two acres of land on the eastern side.

?The AAI had asked for a half square km area. We are offering them 1 sq km area. We are also issuing notices to the mobile companies to remove the towers to some other place,? Chowdhury said.