Ministry sits on proposal to use Gandhinagar air base

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's (MIDC) proposal for use of the Gandhinagar Army air base for civilian purposes has been gathering dust at the defence ministry for the last one-and-a-half years.

Air Deccan, which has already wound up its Nashik-Mumbai air service due to poor response at the Ozhar, is reportedly ready to restart its air service, provided it is allowed to use the Gandhinagar Army air base.

Air Deccan had started a 48-seater flight between Nashik-Mumbai from Ozhar in March 2005. But the air service was discontinued after 16 months in July 2006 due to poor response. Only 15 to 18 passengers on an average would fly on this route daily.

In the face of poor response, Air Deccan had put pressure on MIDC to shift the location of the airport to Gandhinagar, as the Ozhar air base proved unviable for the airline. Besides, local industrialists, business groups and trade lobbies had also opposed the air service from the Ozhar air base.

"Thereafter at a meeting, the then senior MIDC officials and the then Nashik divisional (revenue) commissioner had decided to send a proposal in this regard to the defence department through MIDC," sources said.

Accordingly, MIDC had immediately sent the proposal to the defence establishment in Pune, to allow the use of Gandhinagar army air base for civilian flights.

"No decision was taken on this issue even after MIDC's two meetings with the defence establishment in Pune. Moreover, the defence establishment had again forwarded this proposal to the defence ministry in Delhi. Since then, no decision has been taken on the proposal and it is still gathering dust," according to sources.

The Ozhar air base is 20 km from Nashik and it takes an hour to reach there due to heavy traffic on the National Highway No 3. On the contrary, the Gandhinagar air base is only 6 km from the city. It is much more convenient for air travellers as city buses, taxis and rickshaws operate frequently on the route.

During 1972-1989, the Nashik-Mumbai air service was being operated by Indian Airlines from the Gandhinagar air base.

Thereafter, Vayudoot had taken over the air service, and was operational until 1992. The state government had again started the Nashik-Mumbai service in April 1997, operated by Span Airlines from Gandhinagar air base.

However, this service too was discontinued in June 1997. After a span of seven years, the Nashik-Mumbai air service was restarted in March 2005 from Ozhar airport and was again discontinued in July 2006.