Assam govt to hand over 992 acres to AAI for Silchar greenfield airport

Guwahati, Dec 7 (PTI) The Assam government on Sunday decided to hand over 3,000 bighas (nearly 992 acres) of land at Doloo Tea Estate in Cachar district to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the construction of a greenfield airport, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Sarma said the panel approved an increase of 500 bighas from the earlier decision to allocate 2,500 bighas (826.45 acres) for the proposed airport near Silchar.

"The cabinet approved the transfer of 3,000 bighas at Doloo Tea Estate in Silchar to the AAI for the construction of a greenfield airport," Sarma said, adding that the decision will pave the way for obtaining the Union Cabinet's nod for the project.

The state government had proposed a new airport in Silchar spread over 2,500 bighas as the existing facility at Kumbhirgram is a defence airport and expansion of the facility to accommodate the increasing demands of air traffic is not possible.

In November 2022, the Assam government had distributed financial assistance to 1,296 families living at Doloo Tea Estate "as a goodwill gesture".

Earlier that year, a controversy had arisen over the state government's efforts to acquire land for setting a greenfield airport with the then Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia claiming that no such proposal was received for the facility from the BJP-led state.

It was later clarified that the land was being acquired at AAI’s request.

Because of the confusion, land acquisition at the tea estate for the airport had led to protests by the garden workers, but the government assured that no worker would be evicted from their homes and there would be no job loss.

The state government had previously announced a compensation of Rs 50 crore for the acquisition of land at Doloo, Lalbagh, and Mainagarh tea gardens for setting up the greenfield airport.

In June this year, Sarma had said a public hearing was completed at Doloo Tea Estate. The workers, under the aegis of Asom Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU), expressed unhappiness and demanded the government to return the acquired land or allot the same amount of land at a different place for growing tea.

Talking about other cabinet decisions, the CM said the government has approved allotment of land to 1,200 families under flagship scheme Mission Basundhara.

The cabinet also approved a joint project to be set up at state-run Assam Engineering College and Dassault Systems India Pvt Ltd.

"The project, to be established over 5,000 sq ft at a cost of Rs 243 crore, will offer courses related to aerospace and defence, automotive and electric vehicles," Sarma said.

Of the total cost, the Assam government will contribute Rs 43 crore, while Dassault Systems will invest Rs 200 crore, he added.

Sarma further said the cabinet granted administrative approval for the construction of Assam's second Sainik School at Longvaku in Karbi Anglong district.

"The school will be built at a cost of Rs 335 crore, of which 80 per cent will be borne by the Ministry of Defence and the remaining 20 per cent by the Assam government," he added.

Besides, the cabinet approved compensation to 884 families for land acquired during the construction of the four-lane National Highway in Dima Hasao district.

Sarma said the cabinet approved the Assam Logistics and Warehousing Policy, 2025, which aims to transform Assam into a major logistics hub.

"The cabinet approved the inclusion of Assam's history and geography as compulsory subjects in classes 6, 7 and 8. This decision was taken on the basis of recommendations made by the high-level committee headed by retired Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma, constituted for the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord," he added. PTI TR TR MNB