Kalyan Airstrip
{{Short description|Former airport of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox airport
| name = Kalyan Airstrip
| nativename =
| nativename-a =
| nativename-r =
| ensign =
| image = Remains of NE-SW Runway of RAF Kalyan.png
| image-width =
| caption = Remains of the abandoned NE-SW Runway of RAF Kalyan as seen in May 2022.
| type = Defunct
| owner =
| operator = Royal Air Force (1942–1947)
| city-served = Mumbai Metropolitan Area
| location = Kalyan, Maharashtra, India
| built =
| used =
| elevation-f = 60
| elevation-m = 20
| coordinates = {{coord|19|10|27.8|N|073|08|10.8|E|region:IN_type:airport|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = India
| pushpin_label = Kalyan
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in India
| website =
| r1-number = 08/26
| r1-length-f = 6000
| r1-length-m = 1830
| r2-number = 03/21
| r2-length-f = 6000
| r2-length-m = 1830
| r2-surface = Concrete/Dirt
| stat-year =
| stat1-header =
| stat1-data =
| stat2-header =
| stat2-data =
}}
Kalyan Airstrip was located at Nevali village, {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Kalyan railway station and {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.People, India Parliament House of the; Sabha, India Parliament Lok (August-2007). Lok Sabha Debates. Lok Sabha Secretariat. [https://books.google.com/books?id=s4Dcmi7gMZoC&q=%22Kalyan%22 p. 115]. Retrieved 10 September 2020. It was the primary landing ground for the nearby city of Bombay (now Mumbai) as early as 1920, much before the airfields of Juhu and RAF Santa Cruz were established.[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%200152.html]
As a Royal Air Force station during World War II in British India, the airfield served as RAF Kalyan from 1942 to 1947 and was abandoned after the war. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence but has been encroached upon.{{cite news|title=Protest against proposed airport turns violent near Kalyan, several policemen injured|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/several-policemen-injured-as-protest-turns-violent-near-kalyan/article19124434.ece|accessdate=4 May 2018|newspaper=The Hindu|date=22 June 2017}}
Several Fighter Squadrons and support units were stationed at Kalyan from 1942 to 1947.{{cite web|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Stations/Stations-K.htm#Kalyan |title=RAF Kalyan|publisher= www.rafweb.org |date=9 January 2011 |accessdate= 29 March 2013}} The field was abandoned after the war.
History
The airfield at Nevali was used by the RAF pilots during World War II to give operational cover to the Bombay region. The total area of the Nevali air base was over {{convert|1800|acre|km2}}. Post-Independence, ownership of the land was transferred to the Ministry of Defence. In June 2017, the Navy began constructing a boundary wall to protect the remaining land from further encroachment, since around 400 acres of the land was encroached upon over the years.{{cite news|url=http://www.ptinews.com/news/8821691_Farmers-stir-ag--st-building-wall-around-defence-land--12-cops |title=Farmers stir against building wall around defence land|publisher=PTI News |date=22 June 2017 |accessdate=4 May 2018}}
| class="wikitable" |
| Unit
!Dates !Aircraft |
|---|
| No. 20 Squadron RAF
|1945–1946 |
| No. 110 Squadron RAF
|March 1942 |
| No. 7110 Servicing Echelon
|30 Sep – 6 Oct 1944 | |
| No. 3 Mobile Parachute Servicing Unit
|1945 – Jan 1946 | |
| No 129 Staging post
|31 Jan – 7 Apr 1945 | |
Proposal to use site for International Airport
In October 2006 the Government of Maharashtra first proposed the Kalyan-Nevali site as a candidate for a second airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.{{cite web |date=29 October 2006 |title=Maharashtra seeks approval for another airport |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/maharashtra-seeks-approval-for-another-airport/articleshow/214703.cms |access-date=20 May 2020 |publisher=The Economic Times}} However, the Ministry of Civil Aviation was not very keen on the idea and wanted to focus on the second airport in Navi Mumbai.{{cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-state-seeks-an-airport-in-kalyan-1060976 |title=State seeks an airport in Kalyan |work=Daily News & Analysis |date= 29 October 2006 |access-date= 20 May 2020}} The Kalyan site was proposed because, compared to the Panvel site, the total area of the Nevali Airbase was over {{convert|1800|acre|km2}} relatively free of any natural obstacles and, unlike the Panvel site, there was no possibility of CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone) violations, flattening of mountains or diversion of any rivers. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had raised environmental objections on the proposed location of the Navi Mumbai International Airport near Kopra Panvel area, because the construction of the airport would involve reclamation of low-lying areas in an ecologically fragile zone as well as destruction of several hectares of mangroves. Hence the State Government proposed several alternate sites, one of which centred on a {{convert|1800|acre|km2}} piece of land owned by the Airports Authority of India near Kalyan[http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_state-seeks-an-airport-in-kalyan_1060976] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820004215/http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_state-seeks-an-airport-in-kalyan_1060976|date=20 August 2010}}
In August 2007, the national security advisor (NSA) had communicated to the state chief minister that the airport could not be developed on the 1,800 acres of defence ministry land due to safety and security reasons because a R&D laboratory of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) was being constructed in the adjacent area.{{cite web|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/nsa-had-rejected-kalyan-site-for-mumbai-airport-in-2007-110082000099_1.html |title=NSA had rejected Kalyan site for Mumbai airport in 2007 | Business Standard News |publisher=Business-standard.com |date= |accessdate=2015-10-31}}
The proposal was also opposed by farmers in the Kalyan-Ambarnath belt who contended that the project would require more land than what was available with AAI, thus affecting around 22,000 farmers from 18 villages in the vicinity of the site.{{cite news|title=Farmers oppose Kalyan airport|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/farmers-oppose-kalyan-airport/article1-588755.aspx|accessdate=5 April 2014|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=19 August 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407102119/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/farmers-oppose-kalyan-airport/article1-588755.aspx|archivedate=7 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}
The state government dropped the idea of examining alternative sites in February 2014 as it had secured all necessary approvals for the Panvel site.{{cite news |date=19 February 2014 |title=At least 12 foreign firms expected to bid for Navi Mumbai airport |url=http://www.livemint.com/Companies/PotyBJzZjDRLYFzptqXEyK/At-least-12-foreign-firms-expected-to-bid-for-Navi-Mumbai-ai.html |accessdate=2 March 2014 |newspaper=Live Mint}}
Current use
File:RAF Kalyan and Kalyan Array.jpg
The site is located on Haji Malang Road at Nevali village, {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Kalyan railway station and {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at Sahar in Mumbai. It lies close to urban areas of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation. The nearest railway station is Kalyan railway station on the Central Railway of the Mumbai suburban railway network.
The site can also be accessed from State Highway 2 (Kalyan-Murbad-Ahmednagar highway) and the NH 160 (Nashik-Thane national highway) which was earlier numbered NH 3 before renumbering of all national highways by National Highway Authority of India in 2010 year.
The two abandoned runways have been encroached upon by local population and now host dirt roads serving nearby villages. The southern end of the site now hosts a research and development laboratory of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).{{cite news |author=Sanjay Jog |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/nsa-had-rejected-kalyan-site-for-mumbai-airport-in-2007-110082000099_1.html |title=NSA had rejected Kalyan site for Mumbai airport in 2007 |work=Business Standard News |date=20 January 2013 |accessdate=2015-10-31}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121103045441/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-29/india/27794348_1_maha-govt-gvk-sa-consortium-proposal Maha govt seeks approval for another airport this one in Kalyan]
- [http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/dorab-r-sopariwala-no-way-to-build-an-airport/405107/ 2nd Airport for Mumbai and how not to build it by Dorab Sopariwala]
{{Royal Air Force}}
{{Airports in India}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:RAF Kalyan}}
Category:World War II airfields in India
Category:Airports in Maharashtra
Category:Defunct airports in India
Category:1920s establishments in India