Mohol assures citizens that gliding centre at Hadapsar will not be privatised

The gliding centre spans 230 acres in Hadapsar and is owned by the director general of civil aviation (DGCA)

While citizens are concerned that the country’s only gliding centre at Hadapsar, Pune, may be privatised, union minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, allayed their fears by assuring that there will be no privatisation of the facility.

But while transferring it from the DGCA to AAI, it is mentioned that it will be developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/ HT)

The gliding centre spans 230 acres in Hadapsar and is owned by the director general of civil aviation (DGCA). However, the process to hand it over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started.

Local citizens and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Yogesh Sasane have objected saying, “It is the only operational facility for trainee pilots in the country at affordable rates. But while transferring it from the DGCA to AAI, it is mentioned that it will be developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Sasane said, “The trainee pilots will get a single flight here at just ₹187 and the total course will be completed in ₹30,000 to ₹40,000.”

Even locals have objected. Sagar Bhosale, a local, said, “We used to come here for morning walks. It is an oxygen park for this area. Daily, thousands of people visit the place. If it is developed on a PPP basis, the general public will not be allowed entry.”

Another citizen Lahu Kale said, “Local citizens have given the land to the government for a gliding centre. If the purpose is being changed, the government should hand over the land to its original owners.”

So much so that citizens have started a campaign to save the gliding centre. As part of the campaign, they formed a human chain, protested the proposed privatisation, and carried out a signature campaign to save the gliding centre from being privatised.

However, Mohol assured citizens saying, “There is no intention of privatising the gliding centre. It is only being handed over from the DGCA to the AAI. Both are government-owned bodies.”

The gliding centre is the brainchild of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Of the 18 gliding centres Nehru established, only the Pune facility became operational in 1952. At the time Nehru himself visited Pune for the inauguration, local citizens claim.