The proposed underpass below the runway of the Mysuru airport has been shelved and instead the Mysuru-Nanjangud highway will be diverted.
The concept of an underpass was originally mooted to facilitate the extension of the Mysuru airport runway from 1,740 metres to 2,450 metres. The Mysuru-Nanjangud highway is perpendicular to the runway and the extended portion cuts across the highway to overcome which the underpass was proposed as a viable solution.
But in the Mysuru Airport Advisory Committee meeting here on Friday, Pratap Simha, MP, clarified to stakeholders that the underpass was being shelved to avoid future technical and security issues and instead the Mysuru-Nanjangud highway was being diverted.
He said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had agreed to release ₹510 crore for road diversion in lieu of underpass construction to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The entire Mysuru-Nanjangud Highway was being converted from the existing four-lane highway to a six-lane highway by the NHAI and this included the 5-km detour skirting the boundaries of Mysuru airport.
Mr. Simha’s response was to a query by Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra seeking clarity on the issue of underpass or highway diversion before seeking financial and administrative clearance for the project. Mr. Simha explained that technically the highway diversion was less cumbersome than creating an underpass.
The underpass was originally mooted also as a means to avoid fresh land acquisition as it could escalate the airport expansion plan. The underpass had secured clearance from Directorate General of Civil Aviation who had sent multiple expert teams for ground study before according its consent.
Mr. Simha also said that the road diversion would entail acquisition of additional land but the State government had to chip in for diversion of irrigation canals to the tune of ₹76 crore while KPTCL had to be compensated for about ₹68 crore for relocating and shifting of the electricity and high tension poles.
The Deputy Commissioner urged the AAI representatives not to take up the airport expansion on a piecemeal basis but instead take a comprehensive long-term view with focus also on cargo traffic. He said there was scope for export of perishables which would require support by way of cold storages, and the expansion should not be staggered as the land cost was increasing exponentially.
With respect to land acquisition and compensation, Mr. Rajendra said that he would expedite the process and take it up on a priority basis with the Revenue Department. He also said that in the interim, KSRTC would be directed to ensure that there was a service from airport to the city and vice versa at the time of arrival and departure of flights to benefit passengers.
G.T. Deve Gowda, MLA, representatives from AAI, including Mysuru Airport Director J.R. Anoop, representatives from the hospitality and tourism sectors, Railways, officials of CESC, KPTCL, Irrigation Department, KIADB and others were present.
