Pune: Senior district administration officials on Thursday said the land acquisition process for the proposed Purandar airport would probably miss the state govt’s May-end deadline, citing two reasons.First, the compensation package is yet to be finalised. Second, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)’s funds disbursal is progressing slowly.The MIDC has so far released Rs400 crore. It is expected to disburse another Rs100 crore shortly. “Funds are coming in phases, but the acquisition process cannot begin unless the compensation rates are approved,” a district administration official said.The Pune district administration had earlier planned to start acquiring land across seven villages — Vanpuri, Kumbharvalan, Udhachiwadi, Ekhatpur, Munjavadi, Khanvadi and Pargaon — from March. Even if the land acquisition begins shortly, officials said it would take at least three months to complete the process. Thus, meeting chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ May-end deadline was extremely difficult, one of the officials said.The greenfield airport project requires around 1,285 hectares (nearly 3,000 acres) of land. Officials said the delay in funds flow could further stall compensation payouts to landowners. Beneficiaries of the project are tired of the delay.“Earlier we were told we will get the compensation in March, then April. But there is no sign of payout yet. There should be speedy compensation disbursement, especially with over 90% landowners agreeing to part with their land for the proposed airport,” said a landowner.The state approved a Rs6,000 crore loan in Feb and gave the MIDC nod to raise funds from financial institutions such as Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco). A Government Resolution (GR) issued on Feb 27 laid down strict financial conditions, including adherence to fiscal responsibility and budget management norms, and defined repayment mechanisms.According to the GR, the loan amount would be used strictly for land acquisition, with mandatory reporting on utilisation and repayment. The project would be executed through a special purpose vehicle comprising MIDC (15%), Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (15%), Maharashtra Airport Development Company (19%), and City and Industrial Development Corporation (51%).
