ITANAGAR, Nov 1 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki on Saturday expressed surprise at Governor JP Rajkhowa�s letter to the Prime Minister urging him to reconsider the decision to build a green field airport at Hollongi in the State in view of its �high cost�.
�It is completely against Arunachal Pradesh and its people,� Tuki said reacting to the Governor�s letter in which he had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to upgrade Lilabari Airport in nearby Assam as it would be economically more viable.
�It is the Centre�s decision to provide airport in every State capital on priority and that too we have no airport. I requested Civil Aviation Minister Pashupati Ashok Gajapati Raju during my last meeting to accelerate clearance and allot fund to resume the work soon.
�He has consented to provide fund in the revised estimates of the current Union Budget,� Tuki told reporters here after the celebration of Rashtriya Sanklap Diwas yesterday.
In reply to a question, Tuki said he would talk to the Governor as such a move would be an injustice to the people of the State.
�Land has already been allocated by the district administration. How can a major project in the greater welfare of the State be scrapped? If the statement of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tamiyo Taga is correct, he should tender a public apology,� he said.
�I boarded a flight for Delhi from Lilabari airport last month and have been urging the Centre for its development too for the benefit of Arunachal and north Assam,� Tuki said.
The Governor in his letter had said in view of the �high cost�, public leaders like Tamiyo Taga, some student organisations and social activists met him recently and suggested that instead of a new airport at Hollongi, existing Lilabari airport, adjacent to Lakhimpur district in Assam, should be upgraded at a much lower cost as no land acquisition would be needed. � PTI