The Kerala High Court today dismissed the petition regarding Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Thiruvananthapuram / New Delhi:
The Kerala High Court today dismissed the state government’s petition against the Adani group that manages Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
On August 21, the state government filed an application in August against the Center’s decision to lease the airport to Adani Enterprises. The plea followed a meeting of all parties in the state demanding the withdrawal of the Union Cabinet decision.
Previously, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), formed to participate in the bid, had lost to the winning bid from Adani Enterprises for the lease and maintenance of the airport by a relatively narrow margin of Rs 16 per passenger. . The GMR Group was the third bidder.
“The state government will carry this forward through all legal means, including petitioning the Supreme Court,” Kerala Minister Kadakampally Surendran said in response to the rejection of the petition. “The central government’s decision to ‘sell’ Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to a private actor is an armed robbery,” he added, saying that the state had done everything for the airport, including the provision of land.
The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, had previously criticized the accusations made by Kerala saying: “The state was given a fair chance and the right of first refusal if its offer was within 10% below the range of the highest bid. However, they bid Q9.65% lower. “
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport was among six such facilities for which the Adani group had won the lease in February 2019 for 50 years. Bids were invited by the Airports Authority of India for a public-private partnership (PPP) operating model based on domestic passenger fares.
While opposition to Adani taking over appears to come from the two dominant political groups in the state, the Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front, Congressional leader Shashi Tharoor, a parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram, has supported central government PPP model for facilities.
The Kerala government had last year opposed the offer to privatize the airport. He formed KSIDC, only after the Kerala High Court dismissed the state’s petition. The state then approached the Supreme Court, which, while overturning the Superior Court’s decision, returned the case to a decision based on merit.
On August 25, the Kerala High Court once again refused to stay the proceedings, postponing the case for a detailed hearing in accordance with the instructions of the High Court.
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