Acquisition of 38% Purandar airport land under process, dist admin gets affidavits for 1,152 acres

Pune: The acquisition of around 38% of the land required for the proposed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport in Purandar is under process, after the Pune district administration received affidavits from farmers for nearly 1,152 acres.The proposed airport project requires 1,216 hectares — nearly 3,040 acres — across seven villages in Purandar taluka. Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi on Monday said the land acquisition process was progressing smoothly and the compensation amount was being directly transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.“Affidavits consenting to acquisition have been received for around 1,152 acres. Compensation worth nearly Rs150 crore has been deposited in farmers’ accounts over the past week,” Dudi said.Officials said the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had released around Rs500 crore for the Purandar airport land acquisition process. The remaining amount is expected to be transferred to the district administration shortly.According to the administration, affected farmers are expected to receive a minimum compensation of Rs1.61 crore per acre. The amount could increase to nearly Rs2 crore per acre depending on houses, orchards, fruit-bearing trees, borewells, pipelines and other assets on the acquired land.The administration has almost completed issuing notices to farmers, who have submitted consent affidavits before the execution of final agreements. Dudi said notices are being issued across all seven villages and the remaining farmers could expect to receive them within two days.The collector also addressed concerns regarding agricultural loans attached to acquired land because many farmers had bank loans reflected as liens on their 7/12 extracts. Bank representatives are remaining present during agreement registrations to avoid delays.Officials said compensation amounts linked to outstanding loans were being directly paid to banks through separate cheques, enabling farmers to immediately secure no objection certificates (NOCs) and complete the compensation formalities smoothly. Dudi appealed to farmers to disclose details of any existing loans to land acquisition officers to avoid delays in the NOC and payment process.The district administration has cautioned people against rumours being circulated regarding the airport project and the compensation process.