Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday that flight operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will only begin after 45 days, as some work is yet to be completed. “Let the operations of NMIA first start. The state government, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are aware that it will take 45 more days for take-offs and landings at the airport,” Pawar said in Pune, when asked whom the airport would be named after. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated phase one of the NMIA, which includes Terminal 1 and Runway 1 with 10 bus gates and 29 aero bridges, on Wednesday. Pawar said that the NMIA has a capacity to handle 9 crore passengers, adding that a new airport was needed as there was a heavy load on the existing international airport in Mumbai. The state government has also urged the Union civil aviation minister to develop an airport near Vadhvan in Palghar district, as the seaport is being developed there, so an international airport will also be required, Pawar said, adding that it takes four to five years to develop an airport, and the same amount of time would be required for the seaport. Pawar, who is also the state finance minister, said that it was necessary for every beneficiary of the government’s flagship scheme for women, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, to complete the KYC formalities. If people are facing technical issues, the deadline would be extended, he added. The Maharashtra government had made e-KYC mandatory for beneficiaries of the scheme amid reports that nearly 26.34 lakh ineligible beneficiaries had received the monthly allowance. Pawar also spoke about the Rs 32,000 crore package announced by the government for flood-affected farmers, saying that efforts were being made to ensure that the farmers get the compensation before Diwali. “We have also approached the Union government for providing financial assistance to farmers who lost their crops in the recent floods. We are hopeful of getting the funds as early as possible,” Pawar said.
