Halwara airport becomes bone of contention for rival parties

Ludhiana: It is rare for an international airport to become an issue for elections to be held in a single assembly segment. However, the Halwara International Airport, which is yet to be opened, has achieved this feat. Major parties; Congress, BJP and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are claiming credit for the airport.
On Sunday, Rajya Sabha MP and AAP's Ludhiana West bypoll candidate, Sanjeev Arora, went to Halwara airport to "review progress of work." He was accompanied by city residents, municipal councillors and industrialists. During his visit, he toured the airport premises and expressed satisfaction with the work done so far. Later, the MP claimed that the project had been stalled for nearly 30 years with previous state governments failing to complete it. He said that after becoming a Rajya Sabha MP, he prioritised the project.
Arora said that with the support of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the project had been completed at a cost of approximately Rs 60 crore. An official statement released by the MP said that industrialists and councillors who accompanied him to Halwara Airport gave him full credit for the work. AAP's Ludhiana district (urban) president, Sharanpal Singh Makkar, said that Halwara airport was definitely one of the achievements of the AAP govt, which they would highlight in the upcoming Ludhiana West by-elections.
Cong claim on airport
Reacting to the claims of the AAP candidate, working president of Punjab Congress and Congress's Ludhiana West candidate, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, said, "The Halwara Airport project was passed in the cabinet in Dec, 2018, under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh. Thereafter, work of acquiring land was done by the Congress MP from Fatehgarh Sahib, Dr Amar Singh."
The Congress candidate said that the state govt was supposed to pay Rs 45 crore for the work but the payment was delayed by the AAP govt.
"AAP leaders should be asked why they delayed payment of Rs 45 crore for the work. In one of his statements, CM Bhagwant Mann admitted that the govt was supposed to release the funds. This delay in release of funds led to delay in completion of the work," Ashu said. He also asked AAP leaders and the govt to tell people what action they had taken against the contractor and others for not completing the work within the deadline.
Gift of Modi govt: BJP
Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) described the Halwara airport as "a gift of the Modi govt for Ludhiana," which they would list as an achievement of the party. BJP's Ludhiana urban president, Rajneesh Dhiman, said that posters put up by rival parties claiming credit for central govt projects were lies. He added that they would come up with a manifesto for Ludhiana West elections, clarifying "all such false claims, including the one on Halwara Airport." Dhiman added that in the last 11 years of the Modi govt, the number of airports had increased by three to four times as compared to the 70 years before the BJP came to power.
Last Dec, Union minister of state for railways and food processing, Ravneet Singh Bittu, held a review meeting with stakeholders at Halwara Airport and said that commercial flights from Halwara were expected to commence within six months.
Even as parties are listing Halwara Airport as an achievement, an industrialist, asking not to be named, said that they wanted the airport to become operational as soon as possible and were not bothered about who was claiming credit for it.
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