Pune: The district administration received farmers’ consent for nearly 90% of the land required for the proposed Purandar international airport till Thursday — the last day for submitting the assent letters. District collector Jitendra Dudi told TOI that around 2,800 farmers from seven villages — Vanpuri, Udachiwadi, Kumbharvalan, Ekhatpur, Pargaon, Munjwadi and Khanwadi — selected for the project submitted consent letters, covering about 2,700 acres of land. The total land requirement for the project is 3,000 acres. “We have received a very positive response from farmers. Many more are in agreement to part with their land,” Dudi said, adding that he held marathon meetings with villagers earlier this week. Some officials said the resistance from a section of farmers to the airport project appeared to be softening. Under the govt’s package, farmers voluntarily parting with land will get compensation at four times the market value, an additional 10% developed land in the proposed Aero City and other benefits. Those not giving consent will face compulsory acquisition. These landowners will also get four times the market value of their land but will miss out on the extra sops.Land measurements and surveys will begin on Sept 25. “The land measurements and surveys will commence because there is over 90% consent from farmers in the area,” Dudi, the district collector, said.Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has allocated Rs4.82 crore for surveys and measurements. Dudi said these processes were expected to be completed within three weeks. The actual land acquisition is scheduled to start in November.State industries secretary P Anbalagan told TOI that the MIDC was in the process of onboarding credit institutions to fund the acquisition. “The SPV (special purpose vehicle) company will initiate request-for-quote and request-for-proposal processes to appoint the developer for the airport to reduce the time line between the land acquisition and onboarding of the developer under the design-build-operate model. This synchronous process will help reduce delays and cost overruns,” he said. For small landholders, the govt has proposed collective companies so that they could benefit jointly from the compensation and development package. While many farmers expressed satisfaction with the package, some demanded further enhancements.The administration said compensation rates would be finalised after joint measurements, clearing the way for the acquisition to proceed. “The exact amount would be known once the surveys are completed,” said an official.
