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Business News/ Industry / Infrastructure/  Navi Mumbai airport: farmers, state govt reach pact on land sale
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Navi Mumbai airport: farmers, state govt reach pact on land sale

Farmers will be given 22.5% land back as developed plots out of total land acquired from them

The Navi Mumbai airport project is spread over 1,160 hectares, out of which 685 hectares were already in the possession of Cidco, the nodal agency for the project. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
The Navi Mumbai airport project is spread over 1,160 hectares, out of which 685 hectares were already in the possession of Cidco, the nodal agency for the project. Photo: Hindustan Times

Mumbai: The decks were cleared on Monday for Mumbai’s second airport as the state government and farmers from Ulwe village near Panvel in Navi Mumbai reached an agreement on the compensation package for the sale of land.

“The farmers will be given 22.5% land back as developed plots out of total land acquired from them," a state government official said, requesting anonymity. “Besides, the farmers who will be displaced due to the project will be given houses which are triple the size of their existing houses."

A delegation of farmers from Ulwe village agreed to the terms at a meeting on Monday with Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan that lasted for over two hours.

“We have offered a compensation package which is much higher than what farmers can get under the new Land Acquisition Act. However, as project is going to be developed on public-private partnership (PPP) basis and if the infrastructure companies do not find it viable to develop due to this package, we have already thought about the alternative site," Chavan said.

“The alternative site is off Wahal village near Uran in Raigad district, where we will develop island in the sea by reclaiming the land. And Prime Minister’s office has already given a in principal approval for the new site," the chief minister added.

The airport project is spread over 1,160 hectares, of which 685 hectares were already in the possession of the City and Industrial Development Corp. (Cidco), the nodal agency for the project. Despite securing environmental clearance from the Central government almost three years ago, the project was unable to move ahead due to protracted negotiations with the farmers for the remaining 475 hectares.

The farmers wanted a compensation of 20 crore per hectare, or 35% of the land back as a developed plot. Cidco was unwilling to offer more than 22.5%. Last Friday, the corporation told the farmers it would rather scrap the airport project as a higher compensation to them would make it economically unviable.

Independent aerospace journalist and analyst Hormuz P. Mama said while the agreement with the farmers is positive for Navi Mumbai international airport, the proposed site is not suitable considering the proposed capacity and competitiveness in terms of pricing and connectivity.

“Navi Mumbai airport is primarily planned for domestic passengers. For an international passenger want to connect to domestic destination cannot travel by train to Navi Mumbai from existing airport. I wish the site for Navi Mumbai international airport is dropped. There are several alternate sites for the airport project," Mama said.

The Navi Mumbai airport was conceived because the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport, managed by the GVK group, in Mumbai is estimated to reach its peak annual capacity of 40 million passengers this year. The new airport’s capacity is estimated at 60 million passengers.

On 19 August 2010, former civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the Navi Mumbai airport should have been operational by 2011 in view of the growing traffic and congestion at Mumbai airport. The government of India had accorded an “in-principal" approval for setting up the airport in 2007.

The Hyderabad-based GVK group holds the first right of refusal for the development of the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai. If GVK’s bid falls short of the highest bid by 10% or less, it will have the right to revise its offer to match the top bid and operate the airport.

Debi Goenka, an environmental activist and managing trustee of the Conservation Act Trust, said Cidco has a long way to go before it can start constructing the airport.

Goenka said his team is working towards challenging the decision to give the environmental clearance for the project.

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Published: 11 Nov 2013, 08:22 PM IST
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