Pune Farmers Oppose Reduced Land For Purandar Airport
Pune farmers have refused to withdraw their opposition to the proposed Purandar airport project, even after the state government scaled down its land acquisition plan from 2,382 hectares to 1,285 hectares. Community leaders insist they will not concede until an official notification is issued and their legal and environmental concerns are addressed.At the heart of the resistance lies the Pargaon Gram Sabha, which recently passed a unanimous resolution declaring its rejection of the project.
The assembly maintained that any land acquisition without its consent would be invalid, citing provisions under the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, and Supreme Court rulings affirming the rights of rural bodies in land-related decisions. The move highlights growing tension between state-led development ambitions and community-driven rights over land and livelihood.
Local farmers argue that shrinking the project’s footprint does not resolve the central issue—loss of agricultural land and the long-term threat to livelihoods. They also object to initiatives such as Aadhaar–land record linkage and digital farmland classification, which they believe weaken community ownership and transparency. The resolution has been formally forwarded to state and central authorities overseeing industrial and civil aviation development.
According to government officials, the revised plan is based on updated aeronautical boundary and obstacle limitation surveys, which concluded that less land would be needed to meet operational requirements. A special desk is being set up to collect voluntary consent letters from landowners, with assurances of fair compensation. However, the voluntary nature of consent has already been contested by the farmer groups, who view it as pressure-driven rather than participatory.
State leaders have reiterated their commitment to moving ahead, stressing that the new airport is critical to ease congestion at Pune’s existing airport and to strengthen regional connectivity. The civil aviation ministry has maintained that its involvement will begin only once the state successfully acquires the required land. Yet experts warn that scaling down the project could reduce its long-term viability. Aviation analysts believe that a smaller airport may limit expansion, cargo handling and ancillary development, thereby restricting Pune’s role as an aviation hub. Others, however, see the farmers’ resistance as a cautionary reminder for governments to balance economic growth with ecological and social equity.
The Purandar project, first announced nearly a decade ago, has remained mired in delays due to environmental clearances, shifting alignments, and continuous protests. The present stalemate reflects a deeper conflict between infrastructure development and the preservation of agricultural and ecological landscapes. As negotiations continue, the standoff in Purandar underscores a broader question facing Indian cities—how to reconcile infrastructure growth with sustainable, inclusive, and equitable urbanisation.
