Aizawl: The Mizoram government’s plan to hand over Lengpui Airport to the Indian Air Force (IAF) has sparked intense opposition from various quarters.
However, TBC Lalvenchunga, finance adviser to Chief Minister Lalduhoma, has clarified that the government has no intention of selling or completely transferring the airport to the IAF.
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Instead, the government is exploring possibilities to improve and modernize the airport through collaboration with the IAF.
Addressing a function at the ZPM office here, Lalvenchhunga, who headed a working committee on handing over Lengpui airport, said that the government did not try to hand over the airport to the IAF as was wrongly perceived by the opposition.
“There is no intention of either selling or completely transferring the Lengpui airport. Some people develop a feeling that it will be handed over to the IAF within a day or two. We are only exploring possibilities to improve and modernise the airport through the Air Force,” Lalvenchunga explained.
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He said that the working committee is conducting an in-depth study as well as assessing the feasibility of transferring Lengpui airport to the IAF or other agencies and several experts have also been consulted on the matter.
According to the legislator, several attempts had been made in the past too by the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) and Congress governments to hand over the state’s lone airport to other agencies due to maintenance challenges.
In 2011, the Congress dispensation had given 32 acres of land to the IAF for parking jet fighters, he said.
Similarly, the MNF government headed by former chief minister Zoramthanga had also given “no objection” to the AIF to own 97 acres of land at Lengpui and another 5 acres at Sihphir in 2019 and 2022 respectively, he said.
He further claimed that the MNF government failed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to hand over Lengpui airport to it due to the change in power.
“We are only pursuing the steps which have been taken by the previous governments,” Lalvenchhunga said.
The government’s plan to hand over the airport to IAF has received stiff opposition from opposition parties particularly MNF and Congress and some organisations, including the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the largest civil society organisation in the state.
The central committee of YMA commonly known as Central YMA (CYMA) had earlier met the chief minister urging him that the government reverse its plan.