Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here on Monday that the state government had begun awarding compensation for Kangra airport expansion, fulfilling the announcement of the first budget of the present government.
He said that the process of disbursement would start with this award of compensation amount to the land owners of village Jugehar of Shahpur area in Kangra district. “A total of Rs. 32.50 crore would be disbursed to the land owners of Jugehar and over the time Rs. 3500 crore approximately would be provided to those land owners for compensation as well as rehabilitation and resettlement whose land was being acquired for the expansion of the Kangra airport,” said he.
The land owners of Jugehar village have welcomed the move of the state government to award the compensation amount as it was their long pending demand, Sukhu stated, saying that Kangra airport’s expansion was a priority for the present state government to give a fillip to the tourism sector in the region.
He said that the airport expansion was expected to significantly boost the tourism industry and support the government’s vision of establishing Kangra district as the Tourism Capital of the state.
The CM said that under the proposed expansion of Kangra airport, the runway length would be extended from 1376 meters to 3010 meters, enabling the operations of A320 type of aircrafts. Its expansion would open new doors of employment and self-employment opportunities thereby bringing economic prosperity for the people of the Kangra district, said Sukhu.