Site of airport project at Purandar not yet finalised: Ajit Pawar

PUNE After deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s recent remarks, doubts are being raised about the proposed location of the International Airport project at Purandar

PUNE After deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s recent remarks, doubts are being raised about the proposed location of the International Airport project at Purandar.

HT Image

Speaking in Pune on Friday, Ajit Pawar said that the site for the airport has not yet been confirmed. This comes as a contradiction to earlier statements made in February, that the newly proposed site for the airport close to the original site under Purandar tehsil.

“When the site of the International Airport is finalised, you (media) will be informed through a press conference,” said Ajit Pawar, at the media interaction in Pune on Friday.

In February 2021, Pawar had said that a report has been submitted to the Central government regarding the new site for the International Airport to be constructed in Purandar.

The originally proposed site for the international airport was changed because of the opposition from the villagers in Purandar.

Then a revised proposal, with a change in the location, was submitted to the centre for approval.

Stiff opposition has emerged from locals to the new site as well. Farmers from affected villages in the newly proposed site have started a campaign against the proposed airport in their villages. Earlier this week, villagers, after their meeting with Sharad Pawar, claimed that the NCP had made it clear the site had not been finalised yet.

“Our villages are not drought prone anymore. We have invested a lot in our farms to make the land fertile and to ensure a good crop. If this land, which is our only source of income is taken away from us, then how will we survive? This is an agricultural area,” said Ganesh Mulik, president of the anti-airport protest committee in Purandar.