The Telangana government on Monday, July 31 proposed to develop a second airport in Hyderabad by requesting the Union Ministry of Defence to allow use of the defence airport at Hakimpet for civil aviation. "The Hakimpet station can function in a hybrid model like in Pune and Goa, where the airports are used both for defence and civil aviation,” state IT, Industries and Commerce Minister KT Rama Rao told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet decided that since Hyderabad is rapidly growing, it needs another airport. The present Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad is catering the needs of 2.5 crore passengers every year and there is a need for a second airport on the other side of the city, it said.
The state Cabinet also approved the allotment of 253 acres of land for an airport at Warangal, which is the second biggest city in the state. It alleged that the Union government is delaying the establishment of the airport at Warangal.
The Cabinet also approved setting up of another eight medical colleges in the state. This will make Telangana the first state in India to have one medical college in each district, it said.
It also gave nod for building four TIMS (Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences) super speciality hospitals in four corners of Hyderabad . Fifty per cent of the services in these hospitals will be used as general consultancy and 50% services on par with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science (NIMS) in the hybrid system. The Cabinet also approved Rs 1,800 crore to add 2,000 beds in the NIMS. The cabinet gave its nod to establish a horticulture college in Mahabubabad.