Land acquisition for Pune’s proposed Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje International Airport at Purandar will become compulsory for the remaining 40 hectares that landowners have declined to surrender by consent, Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi has said. The affected landowners will not receive the 10% developed-plot benefit available under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s land-acquisition framework.
The compulsory acquisition is expected to begin in the coming days, according to the Collector’s statement reported by Sakal. The decision affects farmers in Pargaon, where opposition to handing over the remaining land has continued despite the district administration’s efforts to secure consent.
The Purandar airport project involves acquisition of 1,216 hectares, or approximately 3,000 acres, across seven villages: Kumbharvalan, Vanpuri, Ekhatpur, Pargaon, Munjwadi, Khanwadi and Udachiwadi. The state government has announced compensation of Rs 1.61 crore per acre. Separate compensation is also being provided for trees, wells and structures located on the acquired land.
According to the report, 97% of farmers have agreed to provide their land, while 76% of the total land has come into the district administration’s possession after compensation was distributed. Approximately Rs 4,000 crore has been deposited into farmers’ bank accounts towards land acquisition compensation.
The report also states that 96% of farmers across the seven villages have given consent, reflecting a broad level of acceptance for the acquisition process. However, the remaining 40 hectares in Pargaon has become the principal unresolved portion of the land requirement. The different consent figures reported for the wider acquisition have not been explained in the supplied material.
The district administration had appealed to the dissenting landowners to give consent so that they could receive the full compensation package. They did not agree, prompting the administration to proceed with compulsory acquisition. The Collector said that the developed-plot concession would not apply to this land because it is being acquired compulsorily under the applicable process.
The landowners had challenged the project in the Bombay High Court, but the court dismissed their petition opposing the airport, according to the report. No details of the court’s reasoning or the date of the order were provided in the supplied material.
The immediate next step is the district administration’s planned takeover of the remaining 40 hectares in Pargaon. The compensation already announced for the wider acquisition, including separate payments for trees, wells and structures, forms the basis of the ongoing land-acquisition process.
