The Uttar Pradesh government has renewed its efforts to impress upon the Centre the need for developing a new international airport in Greater Noida.
Two dozen MPs belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reiterate UP Chief Minister Mayawati's plans for an international airport at Jevar village in Greater Noida.
According to an official spokesman, "a delegation of MPs today gave a memorandum to the prime minister, urging him to give due consideration to the state government's proposal for setting up an international airport at Jewar, where sufficient land had already been identified and earmarked for the purpose."
Earlier in February, a similar delegation of BSP MPs had submitted a memorandum with the same request to Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. However, failing to elicit any response, Mayawati sought to reiterate her demand by sending a delegation to the prime minister with the same request.
The MPs were stated to have impressed upon the prime minister that the proposed international airport could be the best alternative to the existing Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi that was completely saturated with the increased flow of air traffic.
The UP civil aviation department was understood to have also prepared a blue-print to further expand the proposed international airport into a full fledged aviation hub in the long run.
Besides relieving the increased aviation pressure on the Delhi international airport, the proposed Greater Noida airport was expected to be a boon to international tourists heading for India's most favoured tourism destination -- the Taj Mahal at Agra.
"With the Taj Expressway getting completed by the end of the current year, the driving time between Greater Noida and Agra would be reduced to less than an hour," said the spokesman.
