Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Writes to PM Narendra Modi, Opposes Union Cabinet's Approval to Hand Over Trivandrum International Airport to Private Bidder
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposed Union Cabinet's approval to hand over Trivandrum International Airport to a private bidder. CM Vijayan stated that it would be difficult for the state government to offer co-operation to implement the decision.
Thiruvanthapuram, August 19: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposed Union Cabinet's approval to hand over Trivandrum International Airport to a private bidder. CM Vijayan stated that it would be difficult for the state government to offer co-operation to implement the decision.
The Kerala CM wrote in the letter, "It has been reported that the Union Cabinet has decided to hand over the management and operation of Trivandrum International Airport to a private bidder ignoring the repeated requests of the Government of Kerala for entrusting the same to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in which State Government is the major stakeholder." Rajamala Landslide: Death Toll Increases to 62 After 9-Year-Old Boy's Body Recovered During Search Operation in Kerala.
Among other details, the Kerala CM clearly stated, "In view of the unilateral; a decision taken by the Government of India without giving credence to the cogent arguments put forward by the State Government, it will be difficult for us to offer co-operation to the implementation of the decision, which is against the wishes of the people of the state."
Here's what the Kerala CM wrote:
Earlier in the day, reports arrived that the Union Cabinet approved the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to lease out the three airports of Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. The Adani Enterprises Ltd had in 2019 won the bid to operate six airports -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Trivandrum, and Guwahati.
Though Adani signed the concessionaire agreement with Centre in February for starting PPP operations of Mangaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow airports, with this new decision, the firm can now operate Trivandrum, Jaipur and Guwahati airports. It is be known that the Kerala government has been opposing the Adani group's involvement from the beginning.
(With Inputs from PTI)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2020 11:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).