Central Ministry will Adopt Stand against Aranmula Airport: Kummanam Rajashekharan

New Delhi: Convenor of Aranmula Paithruka Grama Karma Samiti, Kummanam Rajashekharan has stated that the central ministry will adopt a stand against the proposed Aranmula International Airport project. This was announced by Kummanam Rajashekharan in a press conference, following a meet with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at their residences.

Stating that various ministers from the union cabinet has given him assurances regarding the airport issue, Kummanam Rajashekharan said, “Different ministries have decided to adopt a stand of opposing the airport project, if the airport company approaches the SC, questioning the earlier stand of the HC. This stand will soon be conveyed to the Solicitor General. The Union Ministers have made it clear that they are against the controversial airport project.”

Looking back at the scenario in Kerala, Kummanam Rajashekharan termed it as ‘strange’. “The controversial airport project was opposed by more than half of the MLAs in Kerala. They submitted a memorandum against the airport. Also, majority of the Congress leaders of the state have also been against the airport. In spite of all these, the decision of the state government to go ahead with the airport project is mysterious indeed. The current plan of the state government is to create 152 acres of surplus land after getting the streams and rivulets leveled and hand over the same to the company that has planned the airport, at a mere Rupees 12 crore. When the people of an entire area stand together to voice their rights, solely for the purpose of their survival, the government cannot go ahead by pretending to ignore that.”

“This is being done at a time when the central government has indeed understood the woes the common man. Things have reached a stage now, where the state government is harping on the project, even though the Union Ministry has chosen to discard the same,” said Kummanam Rajashekharan.