Business
Shirdi airport is spread over 900 acre and has been built at an approximate cost Rs 350 crore
Updated : Jun 02, 2017, 07:10 AM IST
 "Airport")
Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) during the start of construction of prestigious Shirdi airport made incorrect marking of the site, which led to the airport being 'bodily shifted' 28-30 metres north, said a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Curiously, the Maharashtra government, which has designated MADC as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to develop airports in the state, continued with the incorrect work for three months after the erring was known, the report said.
The auditors during the course of investigation found that the acquired land for the airport was handed over by MADC to the contractor for commencing the earthwork based on the boundaries of the airport site marked by the design consultant.
The contractor was told to initiate the work despite the demarcation of boundaries by the revenue department which was in progress at that time.
"Thus taking up the work based on the demarcation of boundaries by the design consultant without ensuring correctness of the marking of the boundaries by revenue authorities resulted in additional work of 1,68,856 m3. The avoidable expenditure on this score was Rs 3.31 crore," said the audit report.
Shirdi airport is spread over 900 acre and has been built at an approximate cost Rs 350 crore. The first phase of the development is complete and project is expected to be inaugurated this month. According to an estimate about 60,000 pilgrims visit Shirdi every day, out of which the airport authorities plan to tap at least 10-12%.
Suresh Kakani, vice chairman and managing director of MADC did not reply to DNA Money queries.
In two other cases, CAG investigators found that approval were given and even funds running into hundreds of crores of rupees were sanctioned without getting a feasibility report on the airport project or going ahead despite the feasibility report giving negative opinion.
In one case, the pre-feasibility study expressed concerns regarding the commercial viability of Karad airport owing to its proximity (70 km) to the operational Kolhapur airport. However, despite the reservations over its viability, the state government approved and released Rs 85.46 crore for the project. However, after spending around Rs 9.56 crore towards advance for land acquisition and other expenses, the project was shelved citing commercial non-viability.
In another instance, the state government sanctioned MADC to develop Amravati airport without any pre-feasibility study to ascertain the operational/economic viability.
Funds around Rs 98 crore was sanctioned and utilised by the company despite the pre-feasibility study and Detailed Project Report (DPR) later giving a negative report.
Yet another case which caught the auditor's attention was the development of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, where two aprons with a total parking capacity of 10 bays were constructed in addition to the existing seven bays at a total cost of Rs 12.10 crore.
The auditors found that just seven parking bays were utilised by the airport.
"There was no urgency to undertake construction of additional parking bays before determining the projected traffic," the report said.
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