Home Ministry suggests CISF envelope for Aerocity to ensure safety

NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry on Friday wrote to the Civil Aviation Ministry with a set of solutions for the Aerocity project coming up near the Delhi International Airport and asked it for a decision by July 30.

ET has learnt that the MHA has proposed the entire 45-acre Aerocity Hospitality district be guarded by CISF with modern access control systems to ensure no person with any arms or explosives is able to enter the enclosed area where a clutch of five-star hotels are coming up at a stone' throw from the main runway of Delhi Airport.

There is also a thought to provide CISF security at the entrance of each of the over a dozen hotels coming up inside the Aerocity but a Home Ministry official said hotels were bound to object to the presence of gun-totting security men at hotel entry gates as it could put off potential guests.

"We feel that with CISF guarding the Aerocity premises in the outer perimeter and top-notch private security being employed by the hotels at their entrances, the security issue could be resolved. The government does not want to harm the huge investment made by the hotels in Aerocity.

A high wall around the entire Aerocity is proposed with the CISF to guard against any intrusion," a government official said. 13 hotels with a total investment of over Rs 10,000 crore are coming up in the Aerocity - Lemon Tree, JW Mariott and Red Fox hotels are ready for operations and are incurring big losses due to want of security clearance.

CISF guards the Delhi International Airport and could take over the security of the Aerocity. The MHA, which had earlier turned down the demand from the Taj Group of Hotels, Mariott and Oberoi to give CISF cover to their hotels plans to make an exception for the Aerocity Hospitality.