MoCA seeks MoD’s approval for Amarda Road Airport project

16 Mar 2022 CW Team

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has sought permission from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the proposed Amarda Road Airport project development.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Gen VK Singh (retd) told the media that Odisha government requested MoD to grant approval for using Amarda airstrip for operations under Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN).

Odisha MP, Amar Patnaik talked about the actions being taken for the revival of Amarda Road Airstrip in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha and reasons for the delay in the no objection certificate (NOC) issuance for flight operation under Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (RCS-UDAN).

The Union Minister said that the Amarda (Rasgovindpur) airstrip belonging to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence (MoD), is included in the UDAN scheme document.

Under bidding round UDAN 4.1 and Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bhubaneswar to Amarda (Rasgovindpur) and vice versa was presented as a State-sponsored route, and the executing agency got only one bid.

Patnaik also sought the report details submitted by the AAI that visited the Amarda Road Airstrip Road and whether the Government has taken any other steps to enhance air connectivity in Odisha's northern parts.

As per Gen Singh, the AAI team provided a green signal for the proposed airport.

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