Media Coverage | 10-10-2024
Wasim Qureishi/Moreshwar Manapure Lokmat News Network Nagpur
The decision to make MIHAN a world-class project of the state was taken in Nagpur itself, fourteen years ago in 2009, in a meeting held at Nagpur Airport under the chairmanship of the then Union Civil Aviation Minister and the people’s representatives of Vidarbha including Nagpur.
The then Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, then Rajya Sabha MP and member of the Civil Aviation Advisory Committee Vijay Darda, then state president of BJP and MLC Nitin Gadkari, former MP Datta Meghe and then Textiles Minister Anees Ahmed along with the first Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MADC Ramesh Chandra Sinha were present in the momentous meeting.
While leaders, cutting across party lines, were coming together to add wings to MIHAN in February 2009, the then Member of Parliament was opposed to the project. This was the same period when technical difficulties arose in the process of transferring the airport from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC).
On February 22, 2009, a joint agreement was reached between AAI and MADC regarding transfer of the airport. At that time a call was also made to bury political differences and unite for the progress of Nagpur and Maharashtra through the MIHAN project.
The keys of the airport were symbolically handed over to the then VCMD of MADC, RC Sinha. The then Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, MP Vijay Darda, BJP State President Nitin Gadkari and other public representatives were present in this programme. Finally, on August 6, 2009, Nagpur Airport was handed over to MIHAN India Limited (MIL), a joint venture company of MADC and AAI.
The then Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel, then Rajya Sabha MP and member of the Civil Aviation Advisory Committee Vijay Darda, then state president of BJP and MLC Nitin Gadkari, former MP Datta Meghe and then textiles minister Anees Ahmed along with the first vice chairman and managing director of MADC Ramesh Chandra Sinha during a meeting held at Nagpur airport.