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Purandar airport likely to get delayed as admin identifies fresh strip of land to be taken over
PUNE The existing site for the proposed airport at Purandar in Pune district is likely to get relocated in the same area, though it may delay the entire project
PUNE The existing site for the proposed airport at Purandar in Pune district is likely to get relocated in the same area, though it may delay the entire project as the government will have to take fresh permissions from various authorities.
The new site for the airport, according to the administration, is 15 kilometres away from the existing one, where farmers are opposing acquisition of their land.
There are 60 farmers from a single village who may have to lose their land, with the local MLA Suresh Jagtap also demanding shifting of the airport site, an issue that was discussed during Tuesday’s meeting between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, in Delhi.
During the meeting, Rajnath Singh asked government officials to submit the proposal for the same on an urgent basis, said Jagtap, a Congress MLA who was present during the meeting.
“Met defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Defense secretary and civil aviation secretary in New Delhi to discuss the proposed international airport at Purandar. The Maharashtra government has proposed to set up a new international airport in order to reduce the heavy air traffic load at Pune International airport. I insisted on the need to expedite work of the airport,” Pawar tweeted after the meeting
Besides Jagtap, former Air chief marshal (retd) Bhushan Gokhale was also present at the meeting on Tuesday.
The existing site was chosen in 2015 by the then Devendra Fadnavis government, as the previously selected area in Khed tehsil of Pune district received opposition from locals. After shifting the site to Purandar, the Fadnavis government expedited the process for all necessary approvals with the state government. However, with the new site being considered, state government will have to seek permissions from Air force, civil aviation and environment ministry, which may consume further time.
As per the existing plan, the 2,832 hectares of land had been reserved for the Purandar Airport which would be named the Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje Pune International Airport. A total of seven villages were affected due to existing site and farmers from these villages - Pargaon, Rajewadi, Munjewadi, Vanpuri, Kumbalvalan, Ekhatpur and Udachi Wadi - were the use of land.
According to Jagtap, he suggested shifting of site around 15 kms away from existing site. “At the new site, maximum land is owned by the government and only one village is getting affected,” said Jagtap, who gave a presentation for the new site in the presence of Pawar.
“As the existing site will require more land acquisition to be done, the defense minister gave clear instructions to consider the suggestion for new site. Defence minister also instructed both civil aviation and defense secretary to make comparative proposals for the existing site and the proposed site urgently,” said Jagtap.
Despite repeated attempts Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao did not respond to calls and messages.
Rao had recently hinted that authorities are thinking about two to three sites in the same tehsil.
The proposed airport had been planned on 2,000 hectares. Central and state governments had given all the necessary permissions but the actual land acquisition did not start. Total land acquisition cost is expected to be Rs4,000 crore for the existing site. If the new site gets approved, land acquisition cost will come down, said administrative sources.
