Preliminary notification for the acquisition of land for runway expansion at Mangalore airport will be issued in a week, according to an official of the Karnataka Government.

This was informed at the review meeting of Karnataka Development Programme at Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat here on Monday.

Mr Krishna Palemar, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, who presided over the meeting, wanted to know the progress with regard to infrastructure development work at Mangalore airport.

Replying to this, Mr Prabhulinga Kavalakatti, Assistant Commissioner of Mangalore, said that the survey is on for identifying land for expansion of runway at Mangalore airport.

Stating that around 156 acres of land will have to be acquired for runway expansion work, he said preliminary notification for acquisition will be issued in a week.

To a query by Mr Yogish Bhat, Mangalore MLA, on the amount required for acquisition, Mr Kavalakatti said that around Rs 36 crore is required for the acquisition of land in the region. Another Rs 20 crore is required for rehabilitation of families to be affected by the expansion work.

(Currently, Mangalore has the status of a Customs aerodrome, with permission to operate flights to international destinations in West Asia. The current length of the runway is 8,037 ft. The extension of runway length by 1,000 ft will enable the airport to handle bigger aircraft. This will also help in getting international status for Mangalore airport.)

The meeting was also informed that the Karnataka Budget for 2011-12 has earmarked Rs 15 crore for the development of Mangalore airport.

Participating in the meeting, Mr M.R. Vasudeva, Airport Director, Airports Authority of India, Mangalore, said that there is a need to acquire a private building near the new terminal building of the airport. For this, Mr Kavalakatti said that the proposal to acquire this building has been pending with the Infrastructure Development Department.

Mr Abhayachandra Jain, Moodbidri MLA, said that road connectivity to the airport from Mangalore city is good. But, the connectivity from Moodbidri to the airport needs to be improved, he said. This will help people coming to airport from Chikmagalur and Udupi.

Mr Palemar wanted to know the progress in starting Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus service to Mangalore airport from the city. To this, Mr N.S. Channappa Gowda, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, informed the meeting that the bus service to the airport from the city will start from August 15.

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