The Aurangabad airport in the state will soon be renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Shirdi airport as Sai Baba and Kolhapur airport as Mahalakshmi airport, said Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad.
The central government has proposed to rename 13 airports in the country, including Aurangabad, Shirdi and Kolhapur. A decision in this regard is likely to be taken in the next cabinet. Bhagwat Karad said. A proposal to rename Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport has been sent to the Centre. No decision has been taken yet. Now there are proposals to rename 13 airports in the country. It is proposed to rename Aurangabad, Shirdi and Kolhapur airports from Maharashtra, informed Dr. Bhagwat Karad. He said the incumbent minister Jyotiraditya Shinde would soon table a joint proposal before the cabinet.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also announced in the Assembly two years ago to change the name of Aurangabad Airport to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport, Aurangabad. Meanwhile, a proposal to name the airport in Aurangabad after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj has been sent to the Centre and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said a few days ago that the Centre's order would come soon. The controversy over naming Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar has been going on for the last 28 years.
There is a constant demand from the people's representatives for renaming the airport. Earlier, Mumbai International Airport was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai. This decision has been taken on this basis.