But by the end of the day, Haryana had a share in the project, too. Punjab and Haryana now have a stake of 24.5 per cent each. The new airport will be called Chandigarh International Airport and will be considered an extension of the existing one in Chandigarh.

Sources said it started with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asking Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel if a similar project was on the anvil for Haryana.

Along with Chandigarh MP and Union MoS for Finance, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Patel and Hooda held a brief meeting to “sort things out”.

Finally, Patel asked Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal to accept Haryana’s offer to be part of the Mohali airport project. After a brief meeting with his son MP Sukhbir Badal, the Punjab CM agreed.

Badal also made it a point to mention that Haryana will have to cough up about Rs 200 crore to keep one half of the deal.

In a show of magnanimity, Sukhbir Badal invited Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh to become partners in the project to reduce the financial burden on Punjab.

A senior Punjab government officer, who was present on the spot, said Haryana had not accepted the offer made by Punjab around six months ago to be part of the proposed Mohali airport project.

“The airport will be in Mohali. I wonder what the Haryana Chief Minister had in mind when he decided at the last moment that his state will be a part of the project,” said the officer.