The Government of Meghalaya told the Meghalaya High Court that land required for the expansion of Shillong Airport has been handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), with key transfers completed in late January, February and early March. In an Action Taken Report submitted during a public interest litigation hearing, the state said about 22 acres were moved to the Transport Department on January 28 and subsequently handed to the AAI on March 6.
The report added that 10.30 acres of defence land needed for the project were transferred to the Transport Department on February 27 after a memorandum of understanding with the relevant authorities, and this defence land was also handed over to the AAI, free of encumbrances, on March 6. On the same day, the Transport Department transferred 7.72 acres to the Defence Estate Officer, Guwahati Circle, as part of the exchanges.
Deputy Solicitor General of India N. Mozika told the court that the expansion still requires environmental clearances from both the state and central governments, a process that could take time. He also informed the bench that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had granted concept and design-level approval for the airport expansion and related works on January 27. The AAI will apply for execution-level approval after submitting the necessary documents.
The division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh directed the deputy solicitor general to seek instructions from the DGCA about the expected timeline for execution-level approval, and asked Meghalaya’s Additional Advocate General K. Khan to report the likely timeframe for state environmental clearance. The matter is listed for further hearing on March 24.
The proposed Shillong Airport expansion, long under discussion to improve air connectivity to Meghalaya, includes extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft and developing additional infrastructure to enhance airport operations, subject to statutory approvals.
Original Source: https://nenews.in/meghalaya/land-for-shillong-airport-expansion-given-to-aai-last-week-meghalaya-govt/44642/
Category: Meghalaya,AAI,Expansion,High Court,Land,meghalaya high court,Shillong Airport
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Publish Date: 2026-03-12 21:30:00
