E-Paper
Purandar farmers start meeting politicos to explain opposition to new airport site
PUNE Despite an assurance given by Sanjay Jagtap, the MLA from Purandar, villagers opposing land acquisition for the new site selected for the proposed international airport there, have intensified the fight against the project
PUNE Despite an assurance given by Sanjay Jagtap, the MLA from Purandar, villagers opposing land acquisition for the new site selected for the proposed international airport there, have intensified the fight against the project.
Representatives of seven villages have constituted an anti-airport coordination committee to continue planned and organised opposition against the international airport on their lands.
The members of the coordination committee have begun meeting various political leaders to gather support for their cause.
The land owners have also decided meet legal experts to explore the option of approaching the courts.
Representatives from the coordination committee on Friday met Supriya Sule, member of Parliament from Baramati constituency, to request the cancelling of the new proposed site for the airport.
When contacted, Sule said, she cannot comment at the moment.
Landowners from Rajouri, Naygaon, Pandeshwar, Rise, Pise, Rajuri, and Pimpri in Purandar taluka held a meeting on January 26 to discuss the strategy to oppose the airport project on their lands.
Jagtap had attended the meeting and had tried to reassure the villagers that no land will be acquired without the consent of the villagers.
“He said that we would see when the centre approves the new site. There is no talk of withdrawal of the proposal. We want to be ready for what comes next,” said Santosh Kolte, a resident of Rajouri village and a member of the coordination committee.
“In his speech Sanjay Jagtap mostly spoke about how the airport will be beneficial for the villages. He said the lands will not be taken without our consent, but we are not satisfied with what he said. So through the coordination committee we are meeting political leaders to make them aware of our cause and also legal experts to be prepared for the fight in court,” said Kiran Salunkhe, a resident of Pimpri.
Despite repeated attempts, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company and district administration did not respond to questions on the future of the project in light of the opposition from villagers to the newly proposed site.
