Kushinagar airport plan on hold on environmental concerns

The proposed international airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh has been put on hold with the Centre seeking details on its impact on the environment and directing the state government to elicit views of the public.

To boost tourism and regional development in the Buddhist circuit, the state government has proposed the airport at Kushinagar to cater to tourists from Japan, Myanmar, Korea, China, Thailand, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

The Mayawati government plans to acquire 425 acres including agricultural land for the Rs 525 crore project. The state government also proposes integrated development of the Buddhist circuit in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis to boost its tourism sector.

At present, there is an air strip in Kushinagar, which is used during emergencies. There is another airport in the nearby Gorakhpur district.

At a recent meeting, a Union Environment ministry panel sought details of the master plan and the integration of the airport in the regional plan.

"We have also asked the project proponent, UP Tourism Department to examine details of land use around 10 km radius of the project site. Analysis should be made based on latest satellite imagery for land use with raw images," a senior official from the environment ministry said.

"Besides details of probability of flooding of the agricultural land and other areas, noise pollution due to the construction of the airport have also been sought," a senior official from the environment ministry said.

The committee is in favour of a thick green belt around the settlement to absorb noise and vibrations besides identification of species/plants based on botanical studies.

The state government has also been asked to ensure that the terminal building carefully incorporates the features of local Buddhist architecture in and around the area as well as take special measures to highlight the country's antiquity through a museum-like corner.

"Public hearing should be conducted for the project as per provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and the issues raised by the public should be addressed in the Environmental Management Plan," the panel has suggested.