CPM changes line on Chennai airport upgrade

The party will take up the cause of people likely to be displaced.

With the DMK government in Tamil Nadu opting to side with the UPA government and take privatisation route to modernise the Chennai airport, the CPI(M) has changed its strategy. Instead of taking the government head-on, the party will take up the cause of people likely to be displaced by the proposed expansion of the airport.

CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the Left would raise all issues relating to privatisation of airports, including the 35 non-metro airports, at the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting on October 4. The civil aviation ministry is planning to invite expressions of interest for modernisation of these metro airports by the end of October.

A group of ministers had earlier decided that the Centre would go by the state governments' views on modernisation of the Kolkata and Chennai airports. While the West Bengal government opposed involvement of private players, the Tamil Nadu government is open to the privatisation route, although it is yet to state its stance to the Centre.

Anticipating the DMK government's move, the CPI(M) has changed tactics. Yechury said to many regularised colonies would have to be destroyed expand the Chennai airport.

"It will lead to a lot of complication. Our party is of the view that the government should not go for expansion of the Chennai airport. You build your greenfield airport and get the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to modernise the existing airport," he said.

The CPI(M) has also opposed the move for privatisation of the non-metro airports. The government had made a commitment that these airports would be modernised by the AAI, Yechury said.

Yechury said he would put across his party's views to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel ahead of the coordination committee meeting in which the issue would figure prominently.