New Delhi
While the state government’s appeal against the transfer of Thiruvananthapuram Airport is pending in the Supreme Court, the Center has hastily sold the airport to Adani Enterprises. The transfer overcame opposition from the state government, the finance ministry and the finance commission. Adani Enterprises has announced a 50-year agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to operate the Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Guwahati airports. Adani is required to take over the airports within three months.
The Center had earlier promised that the airport would not be privatized and if necessary, the state government would hand over the company to a partner company. In 2005, the state government had ceded 27 acres in the hope that the price of the land would be treated as a shareholding. The auction process did not go well. The state government had moved to exclude the company from the partnership, it said in an appeal against the High Court verdict. After cooperating with the tender process, the High Court later approved the transfer of the airport, explaining that it could not be justified to say that it was wrong.
The Ministry of Finance and the Finance Commission had objected to the large-scale investment and high-income airports being handed over to a single company. The Finance Commission said the Adani Group had no experience in the aviation sector. However, the AAI rejected the objections on the ground that the decision was taken by the higher ups. The agreement was signed by Adani Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Limited, Adani Jaipur International Airport Limited and Adani Guwahati International Airport Limited. Last August, the cabinet approved the transfer of airports to the Adani Group after a controversial auction.
Earlier, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangalore airports were also handed over to Adani. Adani Group also acquired control of the Mumbai airport by acquiring shares in GVK Group. Adani has owned seven airports in 20 months.
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