Hardeep Singh Puri Says ‘If Kerala Govt Is Against Privatisation, Why It Participated in Bidding Process for Trivandrum Airport’

New Delhi, August 21: Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that if Kerala government is against privatisation why did it participate in the bidding process of Trivandrum airport.

Puri made a series of tweets and said Kerala is the pioneer as far as airports under Public Private Partnership are concerned. Also Read | Rajiv Kumar, Former Finance Secretary, to Replace Ashok Lavasa As Election Commissioner; Who Is He?.

He said that Kerala Government, running two very successful airports in PPP mode, is now opposing the handing over of Trivandrum airport under PPP mode. "First PPP airport in India came up in Kochi in Kerala. It is a successfully run airport with a capacity of 13 Million Passengers Per Annum and was handling 9.62 MPPA in 2019-20 before COVID19," he said. Also Read | Meghalaya Govt to Seal State Borders From Midnight of August 31 to September 7 Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases.

"Another very successful example of PPP mode is Kannur, also situated in Kerala. In fact, it was during the UDF regime in Kerala that the foundation for Kochi airport was laid in 1994 and the airport was inaugurated in 1999 during LDF regime," he added.

He also referred to all-party meeting on Thursday in which most parties in Kerala opposed the PPP model at the airport. "Delhi and Mumbai airports which together handle approx 33 per cent of India's passenger traffic movement were privatised in 2006-07 under PPP mode by the Congress led UPA Govt. In comparison the 6 airports now being handed over, only handle less than 10 per cent of the country's total passenger traffic," Puri said.

He said the state government was given a fair chance. "If Kerala Govt is against privatisation, then why did it participate in the bidding process? State Govt was given a fair chance and Right of First Refusal (RoFR) if their bid was within 10 per cent below the range of the highest bid. However, they bid 19.64 per cent below.

"Then they approached Hon'ble Kerala High Court which dismissed the petition in Dec 2019. Petitioners then filed a SLP in Hon'ble SC. Apex Court remitted the matter back to Hon'ble Kerala High Court. There is no stay in the case either by Hon'ble SC or Hon'ble Kerala High Court," Puri said.

He said the union cabinet has given its go-ahead for awarding the airport to the private party subject to the outcome of writ petition and in accordance with provisions of undertaking given by the concessionaire.

"If the petitioners succeed and outcome of litigation leads to annulment/cancellation of bidding process then the Concessionaire will handover the possession of airport to AAI. They will be entitled to refund of the amount paid to AAI and additional investments made in the assets," he said.

"The Concessionaire will also not demand any damages from AAI. Here it should be borne in mind that these airports will come back to AAI after the lease period of 50 years," he added.

The minister said that sovereign functions like customs, security, immigration, plant and animal quarantine, health services, communication and navigation surveillance/air traffic management services will continue to be provided by the government agencies.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to reconsider the decision to "hand over the management and operation of the Trivandrum International Airport to a private bidder".

In a letter, the Chief Minister said that a meeting of leaders of all political parties in the state was convened through video conference and "the overwhelming view that emerged in the meeting, barring a lone voice to the contrary, was that given the unique place the Trivandrum International Airport has in the history of the State, its management and operation needs to vest with the state government".

The Union Cabinet accorded its approval for leasing of three AAI airports - Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram - for operation, management and development to Adani Enterprises Ltd, who was declared as the successful bidder in a global competitive bidding conducted by the Airports Authority of India, for 50 years.

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