Contract for Gulbarga airport project may be terminated

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that the government would soon take a decision on the revival of the Gulbarga greenfield airport project, which has remained grounded for the last one year, after considering all pros and cons and legal implications.

He told reporters here that the project had been halted due to internal differences between the two project partners - Regional Airport Holdings International (RAHI) and IL&FS Transport Network. There was no delay on the part of the government in the execution of the project, the chief minister said.

He said there was a proposal to terminate the contract with the companies and legal opinion was being sought in this regard. Out of the total cost of Rs 186.37 crore of the project, Rs 108 crore had been spent, Siddaramaiah said. He would convene a meeting of all concerned to take a final decision on the matter, he said.

‘May cause delay’

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Siddaramaiah agreed that the termination of the contract with the project-executing company may lead to further delay due to the legal battle. He said efforts would be made to persuade RAHI to continue the work.

He pointed out that nearly 75 per cent of the work under the public-private partnership model project had already been completed. It may not be prudent to terminate the agreement for the remaining 25 per cent work. A considered decision will be taken soon, he said.

The chief minister agreed in principle for the establishment of a police commissionerate in Gulbarga, although the proposal has not been made in the current year’s budget.

At the meeting to review development works, the legislators pointed out that the district had 39 police stations and three more were on the cards and it was very difficult for the Superintendent of Police to have control over all the stations.

Siddaramaiah said steps will be taken in due course to set up a police commissionerate in Gulbarga.

He told reporters that a Cabinet meeting will be held in Gulbarga, a practice started by the previous BJP government. He, however, declined to specify the month and date. “My government will definitely hold a Cabinet meeting in Gulbarga before the end of March next year,” Siddaramaiah said.