The Karnataka Cabinet Thursday granted approval for a greenfield airport in Vijayapura to be set up at a cost of Rs 618.75 crore.
While the initial cost of the airport was projected at Rs 347.92 crore, the Cabinet cleared an additional cost of Rs 270.83 crore, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said following the meeting.
The cost revision was to ensure adequate facilities at the airport to allow larger aircraft to land at the facility, he added. The Cabinet also discussed the environmental concerns raised regarding the construction of the airport.
Responding to a question on the use of ballot papers for local body polls in the state, Patil said that the Cabinet decided against issuing an ordinance for the purpose. “There is no need for ordinance as there is a provision (to use ballot papers for polls) in the existing laws,” he further said.
The decision was reportedly made after consulting legal experts and the State Election Commission (SEC) over the issue. Sources said that the SEC advised the government against bringing an ordinance, saying that it was empowered to hold polls using ballot papers.
Three Compressed Natural Gas plants were also cleared by the Cabinet at a total cost of Rs 74.88 crore. The three plants – each costing Rs 24.96 crore – will come up at Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees located at Dasanapura in Bengaluru, Kolar, and Mysuru.
The plants will come under the Public-Private Partnership model and will have a generation capacity of 50 tonnes per day.