Land Acquisition For Purandar Airport To Be Completed In Six Months, Says District Collector Dudi
Maharashtra Govt Moves Forward With New IT Park At Purandar To Ease Pressure On Hinjawadi
Pune: The process of communicating with affected farmers for the land acquisition required for the Purandar International Airport has begun. District Collector Jitendra Dudi expressed confidence on Wednesday that the entire acquisition process will be completed within the next six months. He also urged farmers from the seven impacted villages not to fall for any misleading promises or sell their land independently, assuring them they would receive fair compensation.
Dudi was speaking at an interaction program organized by the Pune Shramik Patrakar Sangh, where the association’s president, Sunit Bhave, was also present. He clarified that the airport would be built on the originally proposed site and that dialogue with farmers had been initiated to facilitate the land acquisition.
He said, “Approximately 2,800 hectares of land will be acquired for the Purandar Airport. Compensation will be provided to farmers under the provisions of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) Act of 2013. A policy has been adopted to offer five times the value to farmers who voluntarily give consent. Compensation will be based on the type of land—irrigated, non-irrigated—as well as natural resources like wells, trees, and orchards. Hence, building trust with farmers is crucial. Lack of proper communication has previously led to misinformation. However, many farmers are now inquiring about compensation and showing willingness to cooperate.”
“So far, meetings have been held in four villages to communicate with local farmers. In the next week, meetings will be conducted in the remaining three villages to complete the dialogue. Following that, resurvey and measurement processes will be completed, and land acquisition will be concluded within six months,” Dudi assured.
‘Prosperity Through Farming’ Initiative
A five-year Agricultural Development Plan is being formulated under the project ‘Prosperity Through Farming.’ Special export strategies are being prepared for five key crops in high demand: figs from Purandar, strawberries from Mahabaleshwar and Ambegaon, sunflowers from Indapur, and mangoes from Junnar. An “Agri Hackathon” is planned for June along with a “Tourism Hackathon” for tourism development, a “Tool Hub Centre” for industrial growth, and improvements in rural healthcare and education through the District Planning Committee.
Ring Road Land Acquisition in Three Months
District Collector Dudi also stated that over 90% of the land acquisition for the proposed ring road—aimed at easing traffic congestion in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad—would be completed within the next three months under the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA).
