Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Sep 2: The state high court (HC) has completed hearing in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the government's decision to handover the operations of Mangaluru international airport to Adani Enterprises Ltd. The HC has now reserved its orders on the petition.

Mangalore Airport Authority Employees Association had knocked at the high court doors through the said PIL, as it insisted that this measure of the government was illegal.

Mangaluru International Airport (file photo)

The division bench of the HC presided over by acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Satishchandra Sharma, which heard arguments made by the advocates representing petitioner, central government and the state government on Wednesday September 1, reserved its orders.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate, Ashok Harnahalli, argued that the decision to hand over the airport operations to Adani group for a period of 50 years is one-sided. He said that the amount of income during the contract period has not been specified. He added that excepting the air traffic control, most of the other services have already been handed over.

Ashok argued that the rent and lease amounts during the contract period have not been taken into consideration and the model of sharing of income as done in the case of Mumbai airport has not been followed. He argued that there is no scope for giving on lease the entire airport, and insisted that only the area within airport can be given on contract. He argued that the handing over of the airport is illegal and demanded to scrap it.

Additional solicitor general, M B Nargund, argued that giving airport operations to private entities is a matter of central government policy. He pointed out that a decision to handle operations and development of the airports on a public-private sharing basis had been taken in the year 2004. He also brought to the notice of the bench that Kerala high court has upheld the legality in handing Thiruvananthapuram airport to a private firm.

He explained that the income out of the operations of the airport goes to Airport Authority Fund and not to the central government. This fund is utilised for the modernisation and development of airports and this becomes advantageous for medium and small airports, he stated, duly adding that in such cases, the central government does not have to set aside money in its budget for the development of airports.