Explained | Why is Tamil Nadu seeking revenue share in privatised airports

Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have come out in support of Tamil Nadu’s proposal to give States a share of revenue whenever an airport is privatised.

The story so far: Earlier this month, the Tamil Nadu government issued a policy note which stated that the State government should claim compensation from the Centre in case of privatisation of an airport or transfer of its assets to a third party.

Coming out in support of the DMK-led government, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand followed suit and claimed a stake in revenue share from the privatisation of airports.

Here is a look at what the Tamil Nadu government has proposed and why Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are backing the proposal which could emerge as the latest flashpoint between the Centre and States.

Privatisation of airports in India first began in 2003 after the government approved a proposal to upgrade Mumbai and Delhi in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government also proposed the privatisation of a few airports, but couldn’t implement it. 

The proposal was then taken up by PM Narendra Modi. In 2019, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati airports were leased through the PPP model. 

In 2021, the Centre unveiled its plan to further monetise 25 airports managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) over five years under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). 

These included four airports in Tamil Nadu – Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli (Trichy).