Friday, June 9 2006 17:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Left-affiliated union, CITU, today (June 9, 2006) opposed the government's decision to modernise 35 non-metro airports through private participation, describing it as a 'clear case of deceit and deception and warned of a 'major land scam' if such a move was pursued.

Condemning the decision to 'transfer 35 non-metro airports into private hands,' CITU in a strongly-worded statement said that this was being done despite the Airports Authority of India's repeated assertions that it could modernise them on its own.

"In a clear case of deceit and deception, the Government has shifted from its earlier position that privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports for modernisation was necessary so that AAI could pool its resources to develop/modernise the 35 non-metro airports," CITU said.

"CITU has no illusions that this was a pretext toprivatise all the major revenue earning airports of AAI and make AAI redundant in the civil aviation sector," it said.

The trade union said, its apprehension that the prime objective in privatising Delhi and Mumbai airports was to permit commercial use of prime land by estate developers masquerading as private partners, has come true as the government has now made it clear that the private sector would take up jobs of terminal side and city-side development.

It warned the government of a major land scam if it goes ahead with its present plan.

"The idea of picking out non-metro airports for privatisation leaving out Kolkata and Chennai is obviously aimed at pressurising the two non-Congress governments for following suit on the matter of modernisation of these two metro airports," it said.