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Cabinet gives in principle nod to leasing out 5 airports

The Indian government has decided in principle to lease out five major airports in the country with a view to bringing them at par with the best of the aerodromes in the world.

Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav refused to divulge the names of the airports even though the Cabinet has given an in-principle nod.

Yadav parried questions when he was asked whether the five major airports were in the metro cities of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Bangalore.

Yadav said the Cabinet is yet to take the view on the tenure of the leasing whether it should be for 20 or 30 or 50 years. The Cabinet will again go through the matter after the leasing details are worked out.

Replying to questions on the security at the airports, the minister said the government will not compromise on the safety of the passengers and aircraft.

He, however, declined to give details of the discussions his ministry had with various agencies involved in the security of airports, travelling mass and the aircraft. He said it is ''not in the national interest'' to give details of security measures being planned as the matter is very sensitive and was receiving ''uninterrupted attention''.

Yadav said that the government was in negotiations with its conterpart in Nepal from where IC-814 was hijacked to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan purportedly by Pakistani nationals.

UNI

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