Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in a meeting on Thursday directed to take all necessary measures to start passenger flights from Ratnagiri after Sindhudurg. The government will definitely provide funding for the airport, he said. Ratnagiri Airport is under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard. If regular passenger transport is to be started there, it will have to be expanded, for which 33.81 hectares of land between the two villages will have to be acquired. A joint survey of space has also been done for this.
Maharashtra MADC Vice President and Managing Director Deepak Kapoor pointed out that Rs 72 crore is required for land acquisition and other works. On this, the Chief Minister assured that all necessary funds would be provided for the development of Konkan as Ratnagiri Airport would be required. The meeting was attended by Guardian Minister Anil Parab, Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant, Minister of State Dattatraya Bharane and Ratnagiri District Collector Dr BN Patil.