State has no role in selecting airport site: Arunachal govt

The clarification came in response to the 12-hour capital bandh called by the Banderdewa Circle Intellectual Forum (BCIF) today in protest against shifting of the site from Karsingsa to Holongi.

The Civil Aviation Ministry and the AAI had first selected the Karsingsa site, the foundation stone of which was laid in 2008 under the PM's package. A detailed project report was submitted to the ministry and technical clearances from various agencies were obtained, state Civil Aviation Commissioner Tape Bagra said in a statement today.

Later, a committee of the ministry, AAI, Director General of Civil Aviation and Planning Commission technical members visited the two sites and submitted their report to the PMO with the recommendation to finalize Holongi instead of Banderdewa as the final site from technical and safety point of view, Bagra said in the statement.

As Arunachal Pradesh does not have any airport, "there is an urgent need to expedite the construction of the green field airport for the larger interest of the people of this landlocked state," the statement said.