Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday criticised the takeover of the international airport in Thiruvananthapuram by the Adani group, saying it was not for the development of the facility but to protect the interest of monopolies.
The move comes at a time when an appeal regarding the transfer of the airport was pending before the apex court, Vijayan told the state Assembly.
The Centre had violated its assurance given to the state government in this regard, he said during the question hour.
The CM’s sharp reaction came a day after the business giant had signed the concession agreements with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Delhi for the management, operations and development of the Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Jaipur airports.
Airportemployees also staged a protest in front of the office of the Director here on Tuesday against the takeover.
“The management of the airportis handing over to a group who have no prior experience in it. The union government’s stand is to create a special monopoly in this sector according to their interest,” he said.
It was sure that this privatisation was not going to help the development of the airport and so the Centre should step back from its move, he said.
He also urged the union government to hand over the management and operation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the state government which had already proved its expertise in the same.