Govt. fixes Rs.2.05-bn for air connectivity

In a bid to boost airline travel between smaller cities, the Central government will provide Rs.2.05 billion ($31.57 million) financial support to states to provide quicker air links across the country, Minister of State for Aviation, Jayant Sinha said recently, elaborating that the country has launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme to get more people flying in what is already the world's fastest growing aviation market. Under the scheme, the government has capped fares and is offering incentives to attract airlines to fly on less traversed routes. In a related development, the Maharashtra government is likely to urge the Centre to include five new destinations in project Udan to promote regional air connectivity. The emphasis would be on Vidarbha and Konkan region. As the Centre had given its nod to regional air connectivity projects in Tier-II cities in Marathwada, north and western Maharashtra, the Centre‘s decision to sanction RAC to Nanded, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Solapur, and Nashik, have paved the way for creating new developmental modules beyond the golden triangle of Mumbai-Pune-Nashik. The other five towns vying to make it to Udan are Amravati, Gondia, Shirdi, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg, said an official spokesperson of the state.