N Ramchander Rao Credits Modi Government for Mamnoor Airport Revival

On Wednesday, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao credited the Narendra Modi-led Central government for the revival of the Mamnoor airport in Warangal during a press conference held at the BJP state office in Nampally, Hyderabad. Rao questioned the Congress party's attempts to claim credit for the project, asking why the party had failed to remove hurdles to the development when it was in power at the Centre.

Speaking to the media in Nampally, Rao explained that the biggest obstacle to operationalizing the Warangal airport was the 150-kilometer exclusivity clause under the Hyderabad International Airport concession agreement. He stated that the Modi government successfully secured a one-time waiver to this restriction. This waiver paved the way for the revival and operationalization of the historic Mamnoor airport, which is one of the oldest airfields in the country, dating back to the pre-Independence era.

According to Rao, the Central government's efforts to revive the airport are part of its broader push to improve regional air connectivity under the UDAN scheme, which has expanded air services to smaller cities across India.

Rao also criticized the previous Congress-led UPA government, pointing out that plans had been drawn up in 2011 to develop 13 airports, which included the Warangal airport. However, he noted that those projects remained on paper under the Congress administration. He claimed that out of those 13 proposed airports, seven became operational only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office.