AAI, DRDO and Jharkhand Government signed a Tripartite MoU for Development of Deoghar Airport in Jharkhand

Airports Authority of India (AAI), Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Jharkhand Government on 28 March 2017 signed a tripartite MoU for development of Deoghar Airport in Deoghar district of Jharkhand. The MoU was signed in Ranchi in a ceremony held at the residence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

As per the signed MoU, the existing Deoghar airport will be developed for operations of A-320 and C-130 Aircraft.

Key highlights of the MoU on Deoghar airport

• Land: The Jharkhand Government will hand over 600.34 acres of land to AAI apart from the existing 53.41 acres of land of Deoghar airport. These 600.34 acres of land was acquired by the state government in recent past.

• Financial provisions: DRDO, Jharkhand Government and AAI will provide Rs 200 crores and Rs 50 crores respectively to develop, operationalise and maintain the airport.

• Time Frame: As expected or decided, the Deoghar airport will be developed and operationlised in two years.

The MoU for development of Deoghar airport was inked in presence of Chief Minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, Minister of Transport, Government of Jharkhand CP Singh, Member of Parliament Ram Tahal Chaudhaury and Member of Parliament P Nishikant Dubey.

Deoghar

Deoghar is the main city of the Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of Jharkhand, India. Deoghar is a Hindi word and its literal meaning is adobe (ghar) of the Gods and Goddesses. It is also known as "Baba Dham" and "Baidyanath Dham".
In short, the city with 12 'Shiva Jyothirlingams' is a major Hindu pilgrimage center. It is also a home of also one of the 51 saktipeeths in India.

Deoghar is located at 24.48°N 86.7°E at an average elevation of 254 metres (833 feet). According to 2011 Census, Deoghar has a population of about 2 lakh people of which around 17.62 per cent is under 6 years of age.