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Deve Gowda asks Tatas to clarify

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has urged the Tata group of companies to clarify its stand in respect of Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde's allegation that a United Front leader had sought a Rs 500 million bribe to clear the Bangalore international airport project.

Reacting to Hegde's charge, Deve Gowda said he was aware of the reputation of Tata group chairman Ratan Tata and his family. "If Mr Hegde has got minimum decency, he should name the leader who had approached the Tatas," he added.

Meanwhile, the international airport project at Devanahalli, proposed to be taken up by the Tata-led consoritum, was once again bogged down by a quagmire of meetings. Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar announced yesterday that two more tripartite meetings would be held before the project was cleared.

Talking to the media after a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel and the state government officials, he said a meeting of officials of the ministries of defence and civil aviation and the state government would be held.

Thereafter, the central and state governments would discuss the project with the promoters, including some Singapore companies.

The contentious issues, such as the extent of land required for the airport, the air traffic which it would have to share with the HAL airport and fixing of landing and parking fees for aircraft, would be discussed at the meetings.

He described yesterday's meeting with the state government officials as positive and expressed confidence that the project would come off at the earliest.

UNI