Why Harohalli is a frontrunner for Bengaluru's second airport
The proposed site, around 40 km from Bengaluru, is in Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's constituency
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said that Bengaluru’s second airport, planned to decongest Kempegowda International Airport, will come up in south Bengaluru.
Situated off Kanakapura Road, Harohalli is around 40 km from Bengaluru.
Shivakumar handpicked Harohalli, which is in his Assembly constituency of Kanakapura, for the second greenfield airport near Bengaluru. Harohalli is one of the five taluks in Bengaluru South district (previoulsy Ramanagara).
Why Harohalli? The CM says the land cost at Harohalli is too low, technically feasible, and not too hilly. It is also where entire villages need not be displaced, making land acquisition easier.
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Last year, the state government had shortlisted three locations: Somanahalli and Chudahalli on Kanakapura Road (south Bengaluru) and one on Kunigal Road in Nelamangala (to the west of the city). Harohalli is about 24 kilometres from Chudhalli.
CM chairs meeting
On Wednesday (July 8), the Chief Minister chaired a meeting with Minister for Infrastructure Development MB Patil and top officials regarding the second airport.
He said officials have been asked to submit a proposal to the central government after considering a location where land cost is low, which is technically feasible, and not too hilly.
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"Regarding the airport, we discussed what happened in the past. We asked to ensure that no villages are disturbed and villagers should not be displaced," Shivakumar told reporters after the meeting.
"We asked officials to submit a proposal to the central government after considering a location where the land cost is low, which is technically feasible, and not too hilly," he added.
The CM said no specific site had been named yet, but it would be in the South, as were the previously proposed sites. Another advantage is that Harohalli is closer to Mysore as well.
AAI officials' visit to 3 sites
"We asked them to look for a location where land prices are low, so it doesn't burden the state government, and where no villages need to be displaced. A few scattered houses are not an issue, as they can be compensated, but villages should not be shifted for the project," he added.
In the state Budget presented in March, then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that to decongest Kempegowda International Airport, which has emerged as the country's third-largest airport, a second airport would be developed in Bengaluru, for which a feasibility report would be prepared after obtaining technical advice from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
AAI officials have already visited the three sites that were earlier shortlisted for Bengaluru's second international airport.