Central Government Canceled the Proposal of Airport to be Built in Dhalbhumargh | 01 Mar 2023

On February 27, 2023, Union Civil Aviation and Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has rejected the proposal to build an airport in Dhalbhumgarh (East Singhbhum) in Jharkhand, citing environmental protection and elephant corridors.

The letter by Jyotiraditya Scindia states that under the Government of India's regional connectivity scheme UDAN, flights have started operating from the Tata Steel-owned Sonari airport in Jamshedpur and the abandoned World War II airport in Dhalbhumgarh, which is currently operational. It is in dilapidated condition and not fit for operation.
It is known that Dhalbhumgarh Airport Limited was formed as a joint venture company for the development of the airport in Jharkhand. For this, the state government had to provide encumbrance free land to the Airport Authority of India.
In this regard, the Environment Appraisal Committee observed that the proposed site falls in the forests and is home to many elephants and this place is known as elephant corridor. The proposed site is not suitable for airport development.
No land was handed over to AAI by the State Government and forest clearance was not obtained. Due to this authority has decided to close Dhalbhumgarh Airport Limited.
It is known that the Raghubar Das government had taken the initiative to start the World War II-era airport in Dhalbhumgarh. The Bhoomi Pujan of the airport was done on January 24, 2019.
Even after sending an amount of 100 crores by the central government for the airport, not even a single brick has been connected in 4 years. The work was stuck in limbo due to non-observance of clearance from the State Government's Ministry of Environment and Forests.