Pune: The district administration has received letters from nearly 50% of the farmers whose land has been earmarked for the proposed Purandar airport, a week after the process started. District collector Jitendra Dudi said farmers owning around 1,450 acres, out of the airport’s revised area of 3,000 acres (1,285 hectares), had given approval for acquiring their land. “We have received consent letters from nearly half the farmers in the seven affected villages,” said Dudi. Farmers from Pargaon, where most of the land is located, earlier staged strong protests against the project. District land acquisition officials confirmed that more than 1,000 farmers had submitted their consent letters at the district collectorate and the Saswad office in the past seven days. The process will continue till Sept 18.To expedite the process, the administration has offered a compensation package that includes not just monetary benefits but also 10% of the acquired land returned to farmers as developed plots within the planned Aeroity.
