New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said the Rajasthan Government's "staggered response and tardy pace" of handing over land have delayed the process of development of an airport in Kota.

The comments have come days after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot blamed the Centre for delays in the construction of the proposed greenfield airport in Kota.

"The back-and-forth, staggered response and tardy pace of handing over of the land by the State govt. have delayed the process of development of the #KotaAirport. It shows that CM @ashokgehlot51 Ji is least interested in the development of Kota Greenfield Airport or civil aviation in the State," Scindia said in a post on social media platform X.

In a detailed response to the Congress Chief Minister's remarks, Scindia, who is also a BJP leader, said that till date, the state government has only allotted 33.4 hectares of land in favour of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) whereas the proposed total land requirement is 440 hectares.

According to Scindia, the process of diversion of remaining land is yet to be carried out by the state in spite of several reminders by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and AAI.

"It is yet to deposit amounts related to diversion within its own departments," he said.

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