Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday met Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu here and requested him to speed up the completion of formalities for laying the foundation stone of an airport in Mandi town.
The Chief Minister said the airport in Mandi would boost the tourism sector, besides facilitating tourists with easy access to the famous tourist destination of Manali and the surrounding areas.
He said the state government would nominate the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary Tourism for creation of a special task force to hasten up the process.
They would hold daily communication with two officers nominated by the ministry and discuss issues for early clearances and present a weekly report to the Chief Minister as well as the Union Minister, he added.
Thakur also discussed the expansion of the Gaggal airport near Dharamsala and apprised the minister that cooperation of the Centre is needed to accelerate the pace of the UDAN - II project.
He also requested permission to use other airports of the state for the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.
Prabhu assured the Chief Minister of active support of the ministry and added that a Central team had visited the airport site immediately after the request of the Chief Minister.
He directed the officers to set up a task force immediately and to present the report so that all formalities could be completed within two months.
--IANS
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