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Compensation package delays land acquisition for Purandar airport near Pune
Despite the opposition from the villagers, the central government has given all the required clearances for the airport.
The delay in finalising the compensation package to villagers whose lands need to be acquired for the Purandar international airport project is lagging the land acquisition process,” said Vijay Shivtare, minister of state for water resources and water conservation, who represents Purandar in the state legislature.
Ever since the announcement of the proposed Sambhajiraje International Airport at Purandar was made in October 2016, land acquisition has been the biggest and the most contentious issue between the villagers and the government.
Despite the opposition from the villagers, the central government has given all the required clearances for the airport. However, the state government is yet to give a final go-ahead for the land acquisition to the Pune district administration.
Shivtare told HT that the delay in the government resolution (GR) has resulted from the delay in finalising compensation packages.
“We have received all the permissions from the central government for the Purandar airport. After this, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Ltd officials submitted a few proposals of land acquisitions to the state government. However, a consensus between the state government and MADC with regards to the final proposal for acquiring land is yet to be achieved,” he said.
Confirming this, Suresh Kakani, MADC vice-chairman and managing director, said, “It is true that consensus is yet to be achieved as every stakeholder has an opinion on the proposals. Currently, we are in the stage of discussions and will soon finalise the proposals for land acquisition.”
According to Kakani, MADC has submitted four models of land acquisition which includes direct purchase, land pooling, compensation for the land along with return of developed land and allotment of alternate lands for agriculture, or awarding of shares in the company.
“The detailed project report for the proposed international airport which is being prepared by the German firm Dorsch Gruppe is expected to be out by end of October this year,” said Kakani, adding that the development of the airport will be done on the public-private partnership (PPP) funding model.
A total of 2,400 hectares have to be acquired for the airport project from seven villages in Purandar taluka, namely, Pargaon, Khanwadi, Ekhatpur, Kumbharvalan, Vanpuri, Udachiwadi, Tekwadi.
