Congress cleared airport, thermal power plant: Deepender
Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda today said that whether it was the Hisar Airport, or the Yamunanagar thermal power plant, these were all the contributions of the erstwhile Congress government.
“The Union Cabinet had approved the Hisar and Karnal airports, along with the Meham International Airport, in 2013. The Hisar Airport was supposed to be completed in three years, but after 11 years and multiple inaugurations at various stages, the Prime Minister has once again rushed to inaugurate it. Meanwhile, the Karnal airport project remains stuck.”
He pointed out that the Hisar Airport still lacked night-landing facilities. “Furthermore, a recent Rs 180-crore scam was exposed in the construction of the airport’s boundary wall, which was built without a foundation. No investigation has been initiated. This not only compromises airport security but also endangers the safety of passengers, as animals on the runway during takeoff or landing could cause serious accidents.”
He said the PM should have announced the Hisar Airport as a national cargo airport, instead of criticising the Congress government.
He also added that on July 27, 2012, the then CM, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had decided to upgrade the Hisar and Karnal airstrips to domestic airports. However, no work had been done on the Karnal airport in the past 11 years and it remained only on paper.
He expressed strong disapproval over shifting the Meham International Airport project, which was approved during the Congress government, from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh, and questioned Modi’s silence on the matter.
He further pointed out that the foundation stone and inauguration of the Yamunanagar power plant, where the PM laid the foundation for a new unit, were also done during the Congress government’s tenure.
At the time of constructing the plant, the Congress had already arranged 1,011 acres of land, a railway line, and coal supply for an additional unit. But the BJP government delayed the 800 MW unit in Yamunanagar by 11 years, and even the PMO and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) opposed the installation of the plant in Haryana, he claimed.
He said in the past 11 years, the BJP government had not produced even a single new unit of electricity, instead electricity had become more expensive.
Between 2005 and 2014, during the Congress rule, four thermal power plants and one nuclear power plant were set up in Haryana, making it a power-surplus state, he said, adding that the Congress also secured long-term, low-cost power agreements with private companies to ensure 24/7 affordable electricity.
He also mentioned that anticipating potential coal shortages, the Congress government approved and initiated work on the country’s first nuclear power plant under the India-US agreement at Gorakhpur village, Fatehabad, with a capacity of 2,800 MW to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
Haryana Tribune