‘Not even an inch…’: Farmers reject land acquisition for Third Mumbai, cite 25,000 objections

Farmers have questioned whether development is appropriate for villages dependent on agriculture, particularly those covered by the Hetwane irrigation project.

Farmers from 124 villages in Raigad have told the Maharashtra government that they will not surrender an inch of their land for Third Mumbai, the proposed 323-sq-km planned megacity, and demanded that their 25,000 objections be heard before any land acquisition moves ahead.

The farmers’ opposition stems from their experience with earlier land acquisitions for Cidco, JNPT and the Navi Mumbai airport (Hindustan Times/File Photo)

The stand was conveyed at a meeting with state and MMRDA officials by the MMRDA KSC Navnagar (Third Mumbai) Virodhi Samiti, Raigad, which also rejected the government’s 22.5% land-pooling model.

The farmers’ opposition stems from their experience with earlier land acquisitions for Cidco, JNPT and the Navi Mumbai airport, concerns over the loss of productive agricultural land and the expansion of villages beyond their existing gaothan boundaries. They have also questioned whether urban development is appropriate for villages dependent on agriculture, particularly those covered by the Hetwane irrigation project.

The KSC New Town, or Third Mumbai, is planned across 124 villages in Uran, Panvel and Pen and is envisaged as an economic hub linked to Atal Setu, Navi Mumbai International Airport and JNPA. The delegation met additional chief secretary of the urban development department Aseem Kumar Gupta and MMRDA additional metropolitan commissioner P Velarasu after farmers held a symbolic hunger strike outside the Konkan divisional commissioner’s office on August 15.

Farmers also raised concerns over houses located outside existing gaothan boundaries, saying villages have expanded for more than 70 years without a corresponding expansion of their gaothans. Working president Santosh Thakur questioned the conversion of agricultural land for urban development, particularly in Pen.

“More than 50 villages in Pen are under the Hetwane irrigation project. What exactly is the government’s policy for these villages? Why is it not considering an ideal model to promote agriculture? If productive farmland is acquired in the name of cities, who exactly is this development meant to give a better life to?” he said.

Thakur warned that the opposition could intensify, invoking the region’s history of land struggles. “The farmer here is a fighter. We have a history of struggles,” he said. At the centre of the farmers’ objections is the March 16, 2026 land policy, particularly its 22.5% developed-land model. The framework provides cash, FSI/TDR and 22.5% developed land options, besides acquisition through mutual consent or statutory provisions.

The farmers instead want any acquisition to be governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which they say provides stronger safeguards.

They have also sought a ban on land transactions across the 124 villages, exclusion of more than 50 Pen villages linked to Hetwane and a halt to MMRDA surveys. “The government has not heard the 25,000 objections or gram sabha resolutions opposing Third Mumbai. Proceeding without hearing them violates the farmers’ right to natural justice. The hearings must be held first,” said committee general secretary Rupesh Patil.

Opposition intensified in June after the state appointed Singapore-based Surbana Jurong Infrastructure as consultant for the master plan. On June 7, hundreds of residents from the 124 villages gathered at the Chirner Jungle Satyagraha Hutatma Smarak and took an oath not to surrender an inch of land. Patil described the movement as a fight for villages, homes, livelihoods and existence. MMRDA maintains that the project is being implemented in accordance with statutory procedures and is intended to balance planned urban growth with the interests of existing villages and surrounding communities.