New Delhi:

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia slammed the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan saying that the “back-and-forth”, “staggered response” and “tardy pace” of handing over land by the Rajasthan government has led to delay in development of the Kota Airport.

“The back-and-forth, staggered response and tardy pace of handing over of the land by the State govt. have delayed the process of development of the #KotaAirport It shows that CM @ashokgehlot51Ji is least interested in the development of Kota Greenfield Airport or civil aviation in the State,” the Civil Aviation Minister said in a post on ‘X’ on Saturday.

This came in response to the Rajasthan Chief Minister blaming the Centre for delays in the construction of the proposed airport in Kota while speaking to the media on Thursday.

In a detailed response shared by Scindia on ‘X’, the Minister said, “It is unfortunate that the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Shri Gehlot has made such a misleading statement without having taken the facts of the matter into account.”

Scindia alleged that the Rajasthan government has only allotted 33.4 hectares of land in favour of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), out of the total 440 hectares proposed.

Moreover, Scindia highlighted that the process of diversion of remaining land is yet to be carried out by the State in spite of several reminders by the Civil Aviation Ministry and AAI on several occassions. It is yet to deposit amounts related to diversion within its own departments, he said.

The Civil Aviation Minister further claimed that the state goverment had been apprised that the process of shifting the power grid line is important for obtaining necessary clearances from relevant regulatory authorities. However, the matter is still pending at the level of the state government.

“The back-and-forth, staggered response and tardy pace of handing over of the land by the State govt. have delayed the process of development of the airport. It shows that CM Shri Gehlot is least interested in the development of civil aviation in the State,” Scindia said.

Earlier on Thursday, speaking to the media, Rajasthan Chief Minister has also accused Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of not playing a positive role for the airport’s development.

Rajasthan is going to polls in November. The Congress party which is in power in the state is in direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is in power in the state. 

The BJP and the Congress have been forming the government in Rajasthan in alternate terms every election since 1993. The two parties have been voting each other out in every poll since then.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)