Thiruvananthapuram: The privatisation of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is escalating into a major centre-state standoff.

Soon after the KSIDC has moved the High Court against the Adani Group win, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday saying the growing “public resentment” would make it difficult for the state to back a “private agency”.

The chief minister called the entire bidding process into question. “The absence of a prior experience clause in the tender document was surprising,” the chief minister said. “Instead an experience in infrastructure development alone was asked for. That the Adani Group, which had no experience in airport development, had won six bids makes the entire process suspicious,” he added.

The chief minister wanted the prime minister to urgently intervene to stop the hand over of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to the Adani Group. Pinarayi Vijayan also wanted the responsibility given to the special purpose vehicle created by the state. “Only such a move will safeguard the interests of the state and the Centre,” the chief minister said in the letter.

The letter said that public resentment was growing against the take over of the airport by a private company. “That the same company has won the bid for six airports including Thiruvananthapuram has only intensified the anger,” the letter said.

The chief minsiter said that the Kerala government had provided 635 acres free for the development of the airport. “But our decision to transfer 23.57 acres in 2005 for the construction of the new international terminal was conditional,” the chief minister said.

A major condition was that if under any circumstances the airport was made into a company, the cost of the land transferred free of cost should be converted into the state's share. What's more, the civil aaviation secretary had in 2003 given a written assurance that the state government would be consulted whenever there was a move to introduce private participation in the Thiruvananthapuram airport.

The chief minister told the prime minister that he had earlier proposed to the union civil aviation minister that a company could be formed with the state government and the Airports Authority of India given dominant shares on the basis of the land value and the investments made.

“However, then we were told to present our case before a central committee chaired by the NITI Aayog CEO,” the chief minsiter said. Kerala had put forward two proposals. One, hand over the running of the airport to the company that will be formed by the state government. Two, allow the company formed by the state to participate in the bid process with the 'right of first refusal'.

Both these proposals were rejected by the Centre. “The right of first refusal was granted but only for a difference of 10 percent,” the chief minsiter said. Meaning, the state's company would get preference only if the winning bid is only 10 percent higher. In Adani's case, the quoted amount was nearly 25 percent higher. Adani had quoted a Rs 168 per passenger fee, and KSIDC Rs 135. The lowest bidder GMR, which runs the Delhi and Hyderabad airports, quoted Rs 63.