Mumbai, Delhi airports to abolish development fee

October 17, 2012

mumbai_airport

New Delhi, October 17: In a marginal relief to air passengers, the airport development fee (ADF) will be withdrawn at the Delhi and Mumbai airports from January 1, 2013.

Now the Delhi airport is charging Rs 200 per domestic passenger and Rs 1,300 per international passenger, while in Mumbai the fee is Rs 100 and Rs 600 respectively.

The move comes close on the heels of the Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh asking the Airports Authority of India (AAI) not to levy ADF in Chennai and Kolkata airports. The two airports are operated by the AAI unlike those in Delhi and Mumbai which are run by private companies.

The move comes following a direction from the minister to AAI to infuse more equity in Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) and Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) with the objective of abolishing ADF in the airports.

The minister has asked the AAI to submit its proposals to Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) which will take a final decision on the issue.

An official release said on Tuesday that the expected financing gap in case of MIAL will be about Rs 4,200 crore, while in case of DIAL it will be roughly Rs 1,175 crore if the ADF is abolished with effect from January 1.

An official release said: “Emphasising on the objective of the Government to make air travel affordable and to ensure passengers are not subjected to any extra burden, the minister has asked the AAI to take on priority the equity infusion with the purpose of abolition of ADF. If the present funding gaps in case of MIAL and DIAL are met in terms of equity infusion and proportionate raising of loans by the airport promoters including AAI, the ADF will stand abolished.”

The issue had figured in the courts too. The Supreme Court on October 12 reverted the matter to AERA to decide on the legality of the issue. The court had refused an interim stay on the collection of fees. However, it had remarked that the common man should not be asked “to pay for executive lounges.”

The court was hearing two petitions, one filed by NGO Consumer Online Foundation, which challenged the levy of fees and another by Federation of Indian Airlines, which wanted to enhance the amount.


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News Network
January 6,2020

Hyderabad, Jan 6: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday expressed solidarity with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, following violence in the campus and said the "cruel attack" was meant to "punish"the students as they "dared to stand up".

"In solidarity with the brave students of JNU. This cruel attack is meant to 'punish' JNU students because they dared to stand up. It's so bad that even Union Ministers are tweeting helplessly. Modi Sarkar must answer why cops aresiding with goons," the Hyderabad MP tweeted.

The AIMIM has also tweeted expressing solidarity with the "students of JNU". "AIMIM stands in solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Who feels threatened by the voice of students?," the party said in a tweet.

Violence broke out at the JNU on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in police which conducted a flag march.

At least 28 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, June 13: A quarantine notice pasted outside former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 3, Motilal Nehru Place residence has raised speculations among media and political circles.

According to reports, the daughter of a domestic help who works at Singh’s residence has tested positive. She and her family, who live in the servant quarters, have been quarantined.

Singh, who has not been keeping well for some time, is slowly getting active. Congress leaders said the former Prime Minister attended a meeting of the party’s consultative committee on Thursday through video conference.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Jan 29: Multiple organisations have called for a Bharat Bandh today in order to protest against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Bharat  Bandh today has been organised in Surat in Gujarat, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Increased security measures have been put in place in the three states keeping in view the call for shutdown.

According to media reports, the call for Bharat Bandh was given by Maulana Sajjad Nomani of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). This was to protest against the controversial CAA-NRC. This call is supported by an NGO based in Surat, Versatile Minorities Forum (VMF). Apart from the VMF, the call for strikes has been supported by organizations such as Bahujan Kranti Morcha, National Association of Street Vendors of India Surat chapter and the Textile Market Workers' Union.

The workers of the VMF were also spotted distributing pamphlets and urging people to support the strike. Several shopkeepers have also put up notices stating that their shops will be shut for the day.

Earlier, Bharat Bandh was called by 10 trade unions and several bank employees in order to protest against the "anti-people policies of the government" on January 8 and 9. A few violent incidents during this Bharat Bandh were reported in West Bengal.

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