Former state minister offers revised formula for Purandar airport

As stiff opposition to the Purandar airport continues from villages of the proposed new site, former state minister and Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare has written a letter to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and has suggested a new formula for the airport project

As stiff opposition to the Purandar airport continues from villages of the proposed new site, former state minister and Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare has written a letter to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and has suggested a new formula for the airport project. In the letter written on February 13, Shivtare requested Pawar to declare the rates of land acquisition immediately and shift the project to the old site.

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In his letter, Shivatare has said that if the rates of land acquisition is declared then opposition from the old site will get diluted and people accept it. In his letter, Vijay Shivatare has also mentioned that initially farmers had objected to the land acquisition for the Samruddhi Mahamarg project but once the actual rates were announced the process got going. Shivatare said that he was sure it would happen in this case also. He has suggested that in case of the old site, the opposition was strong from Pargaon. If Pargaon is excluded from the project site, the construction of the project would be possible. “No one can understand why the project site was shifted without consulting farmers and villagers. There is strong opposition from villagers to the new site. If the rates of land acquisition or arrangement of the acquisition is declared then people are ready to proceed with it. There is no point in delaying the project with fresh permissions,” said Vijay Shivtare.

The old site for the Purandar airport was constituted of the villages Pargaon, Rajewadi, Munjewadi, Vanpuri, Kumbalvalan, Ekhatpur and Udachi Wadi. After opposition from these villages the project site was shifted to 2 kms away from these villages and a fresh proposal for the new project site was submitted. While speaking at a press conference in Pune, Ajit Pawar had said that after the suggestion from the defence minister, a joint report regarding the new airport site has been submitted to the central government by the district collector, airport authority and defence authorities.

Villagers from the (new site) RisePise, Naygaon, Pandeshwar, Rajouri, Mavadi-Pimpri in Purandar taluka have come together and constituted the anti-airport coordination committee. members of the anti-airport coordination committee met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to oppose the proposed construction of the airport in their villages in Purandar taluka. The committee members have also submitted a letter to Sharad Pawar. In this letter they have highlighted the reasons behind opposing the airport project on their lands. Villagers from RisePise, Naygaon, Pandeshwar, Rajouri, Mavadi-Pimpri in Purandar taluka have come together and constituted the anti-airport coordination committee.

“We met Pawar Saheb in Jejuri and expressed our concerns. We want the administration to listen to us. When the proposal for the new site was submitted, no one talked to us or tried to consult us on this issue. So, now we have to make them listen to us,” said Pandharinath Sonawane from Pandeshwar village, who is the vice-president of the anti-airport coordination committee. “We told him that our lands are under irrigation and our lives will be destroyed if our land is taken from us. We have asked him for a meeting to discuss this issue in detail. He said he will let us know later,” said Pandharinath Sonawane.

In the letter, the committee members have emphasised that almost 80% of the land in the newly proposed site is under irrigation and the land owners mainly rely on farming as their livelihood.

“There was no consultation with the locals before the new site for the airport was proposed and somehow the administration has got the wrong impression that ours is a drought-prone area. Now we are going to conduct gram sabhas in our villages and convey our resistance to the authorities,” Santosh Kolte, secretary anti-airport coordination committee.

The committee members had earlier met NCP leader and Member of Parliament from Baramati constituency Supriya Sule to raise their issues. They had asked her for a meeting to discuss the issues in detail.