NEW DELHI, May 3: Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel said that the Centre was trying to find a solution to speed up the clearance to the new international airport project near Bangalore.

After a meeting with civil aviation minister CM Ibrahim, he told newsmen here that ministry officials right now were trying to sort out the issue and come out with a positive solution for getting the bogged down project to a start.

"The civil aviation minister himself is very keen in seeing that the international airport comes up at Devanhally near Banglore soon," Patel said.

The chief minister said during his meeting with Ibrahim he had impressed upon the importance of the project and categorically told that any hesitations on the part of the Centre would send wrong signals to international community interested in future investments in Karnataka.

He clarified that under the terms of the agreement, the Tata consortium was to build and operate the airport. But subsequently the civil aviation ministry altered the terms saying that the consortium should build the airport and transfer it to the government for operation. This was not acceptable to the consortium, he said.

He also said former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had no interest in taking on the mantle of the Janata Dal presidentship. "I am prepared to unhesitatingly support him for the post of presidentship but he is not willing," Patel said on being asked what were the former prime minister's plan after giving up the office.

The chief minister said Deve Gowda was thinking of doing something for the party and for his state besides using his good offices to keep the united Front government strong at the Centre.He is a very good organiser and a hard worker, and therefore, would be ideal to take up the post of the party president, but he is not willing, he said.

Patel refuted allegations that a son of Deve Gowda, who was minister in the state cabinet, was meeting with the dissident MLAs to pull down his ministry saying he was aware of the meetings.

"As far as I know, Deve Gowda's son had attended these meetings to advise the dissidents against any precipitate action and not to support them," he said. Asked whether he was satisfied with the representation of single minister in the Union cabinet, despite the fact that the state had returned 16 MPs, Patel said the prime minister assured him that there would be some more ministers from Karnataka in the next cabinet extension.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.