The Indian Air Force has agreed to vacate the airbase at Leh in the arid Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate expansion of the civilian airport by the state government.
The Indian Air Force has agreed to vacate the airbase at Leh in the arid Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate expansion of the civilian airport by the state government.
Kashmir’s divisional commissioner Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon said that he was informed about it by the IAF officers at a meeting held in Srinagar on Friday to review the expansion plan. The meeting was attended by senior officials of Airport Authority of India Limited and civil administration of the state.
Mr Samoon said that he was informed that the state government has identified a patch of land in lieu of the existing IAF airbase in Leh which will pave the way for the expansion of the airport for civilian use. The IAF authorities have already vetted the proposal. In neighbouring Kargil, the Army has agreed to vacate a large tract of land presently under its control in exchange for an alternate site. The land thus vacated would be used for the expansion of the town, he said.
The IAF officials, who attended the meeting, said the alternate site offered by the state government in Leh has been examined by experts and they are ready to take over if the state government finalises the deal, an official handout issued here said.
It added that the divisional commissioner was also informed that the modalities are being worked out to shift the existing airbase in Leh to AAI.
