Two reports in TOI on successive days show Goa government is beginning to be able to focus on the airport situation. Yesterday we had "Digambar to submit Mopa report in Delhi". It noted that the PM's assent to the Mopa airport proposal was "a mere formality". It appears that the main purpose of the move was to re-start land acquisition proceedings at Mopa which had lapsed due to the anti-Mopa political agitation.
Today's report is headlined "Review plan to shut down Dabolim airport, Centre told". Here we are told that "mutation cases" involving Dabolim land other than that under the airport's jurisdiction are to be re-studied, ostensibly to facilitate the making of land available for expansion/upgradation purposes. The more significant point is that the committee has requested "relevant documents pertaining to the construction of greenfield airports at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nav(i) Mumbai and Noida" so that Goa government could arrive at "the best model" for Mopa. This step had been mentioned as long as four months ago. It is heartening that Goa Government seems serious about learning from experience elsewhere in India. It should not be overly fazed if it suddenly finds that the tail it is trying to playfully grab is that of a fierce tiger! Regarding the request for a "review" of the Union Cabinet's March 2000 decision to close Dabolim civil enclave when Mopa is opened, let us realise that Goa's situation is really not much better than Bangalore and Hyderabad's. In the latter, and especially in Bangalore, desperate attempts are being made to "re-open" the old HAL airport AFTER it was closed according to a similar decision when the contracts for new airports were signed. The developers are sitting on a nearly water-tight legal position in both places. The question for Goa is: who will agree to build a Mopa airport without a similar assurance of Dabolim's closure? And what will the Centre and State do when such a request is made by the developer? According to past form, they will simply cave in. The superficial lesson from the projects cited is that new airports are invariably "international" ones from Day One. Hence, the same "international" recipe for Mopa. That's a big mistake which is probably already being made. Goa Government has to be able to think out of the box. In addition to "international" and "domestic" it must also think of "regional". What's the harm in starting "regional" and growing over time into "international" as traffic (at two airports) warrants? The over-riding consideration here would be to ensure that Dabolim civil enclave is not inadvertently closed due to wrong design and start-up decisions at Mopa. But it may not be easy to find a developer who is prepared to take a real long term view of investments and benefits. So far we see only "Big Bang" artists who pour big money upfront so that they can reap fat profits for the next few decades at the cost of society and the economy. Nor will it be easy by any means for Goa government to invest in a "core competence" in civil aviation for the sake of its pioneering two airport system. It is not enough for Goa government to look merely at the Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi cases. It should also get information about Pune, Vishakhapatnam and Agra while it is at it. In all three places, civil enclaves are at risk of shut down (just like HAL and Begumpet and, yes, Dabolim) due to planned "international" airports (the Agra one being linked to the Noida project near Delhi). The bottom line is: Goa cannot afford to follow in their footsteps as far as Dabolim's closure is involved. It has to chart a new direction.
