By Piyush M Padwale
Ahead of the July 31 deadline for landowners to complete the consent process for the proposed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport in Purandar, Maharashtra, families carrying land records and documents gathered at the Saswad Tehsil Office on Monday.
Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said landowners who do not complete the consent process by the deadline will have their land taken under compulsory acquisition. The Pune District Administration has said the project requires 1,216 hectares of land spread across seven villages in Purandar, and that more than ₹2,160 crore has already been paid as compensation to affected landowners.
The proposed airport is expected to ease pressure on Pune’s existing airport, which also serves as an Indian Air Force base. The rehabilitation package includes compensation of around ₹1.61 crore per acre, payments for houses, wells, trees, and other assets, and the development of an Aerocity as part of the project.
Pavan Eknath Katke, 60, from Udachiwadi, came to complete the agreement for his seven-acre landholding. He said he had accepted the acquisition, was satisfied with the compensation, planned to purchase agricultural land elsewhere, and felt the project had not negatively affected his family.
Others, however, remained dissatisfied with the acquisition process. Ramdas Sarjerao Kumbharkar, 70, from Kumbharvalan, whose entire 2.5-acre landholding is being acquired, said the compensation would not be enough for him to rebuild his life. He claimed the government’s valuation of his bungalow, built in 2022, was lower than both its construction cost and the amount it would cost to rebuild today.
“We can’t even eat or sleep properly at night. We’ve lost our peace of mind. We have to wander around searching for replacement land, but prices everywhere are skyrocketing. Even in remote rural areas of Satara district, people are asking for ₹1 crore per acre. How are small farmers supposed to survive this?” he said.
Kumbharkar said the compensation would not allow him to buy an equivalent amount of agricultural land elsewhere. “How can anyone be satisfied with this compensation? Out of my 2.5 acres, with the compensation offered, I won’t even be able to buy 1.5 acres elsewhere,” he said.
He also alleged that objections filed by distant relatives had delayed compensation for genuine cultivators, forcing many farmers to make repeated visits to government offices over the past few months. “Our stance is simple: if you acquire our land, provide us with fair compensation and proper rehabilitation,” he said.
Kumbharvalan Sarpanch Manjusha Gaikwad said many residents continue to oppose the acquisition because they believe it threatens livelihoods built over generations. “This land is deeply emotional for them. It is their livelihood. Generations of families have poured their lives into this soil,” she said.
Gaikwad said there was still no clarity on how affected families would be rehabilitated. “There is complete ambiguity regarding the rehabilitation plan. No clear details have been shared about where or how people will be relocated,” she said.
She said residents were not against the airport project itself, but wanted the government to consider shifting it to rocky terrain instead of fertile agricultural land.
“Land is a personal asset. You cannot forcibly take away someone’s land when they explicitly state they do not want to part with it. We are not opposed to development or the airport project itself, but it should not come at the cost of destroying fertile, food-producing agricultural land,” she said.
Gaikwad said several political representatives, including Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare, had visited the affected villages, but that the movement had received little support from farmers’ organisations. She said the matter remains pending before the courts and urged the government to reconsider the project’s location.
Despite repeated attempts to reach Deputy Collector and Land Acquisition Officer Varsha Landge, she did not respond to requests for comment.