Ichha Sharma, Pune
In response to questions about Shivaji Nagar MLA Siddharth Shirole’s locus standing in the project, landowners in seven villages in the Purandar taluka, the original proposed location for the new Pune international airport, have accused the state government of mental harassment. The villages in question are Pargaon, Kumbarvalan, Khanwadi, Munjwadi, Ekhatpur, Vanpuri, and Udachiwadi.
Shirole’s tweet was in response to concerns made by online users regarding deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ omission of the Purandar airport from his address before the assembly regarding the status of several airports in the state.
According to Shirole, who spoke to TOI, the government directed the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) just recently to obtain the essential permits from various agencies and ministries once more in order to start the land acquisition process at the villages that were initially chosen for the project.
The allegations follow the MLA’s declaration that “According to the information I have received, the Chhatrapati Sambhaji International Airport construction in Purandar is advancing as anticipated with the pre-acquisition and land acquisition requirements presently underway. I want to reassure the people of the Pune region that, over the coming days, I will work closely with all pertinent departments to compile thorough data and a thorough schedule that I can share with you. I intend to keep you updated throughout the journey.” The MVA administration had moved the project by 15-20 kilometers in a tweet on Saturday.
The project was said to have received all essential approvals, including from the defense ministry, according to Fadnavis, the CM in 2016. However, the site was moved 15 to 20 kilometers away to the villages of Mavadi, Pimpri, Rajuri, Rise-Pise, Naygaon, and Pandeshwar by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which took office in 2019.
The revised idea had been rejected by the defense ministry. When the Shinde-Fadnavis administration took office last year, the state government declared both the airport and a center for logistics will be built on the original location and run by the MADC.
“The Center had already cleared the original site. We must get new permissions because there have been conversations about using alternative sites as a result of the change in government. I will be investigating the request made last week by the state’s general administration department for MADC to obtain new permissions. The MIDC, which is now the focal agency for the development of the airport and the logistics hub, will begin the land purchase process once the clearances are obtained, the Shivajinagar MLA informed TOI.”
According to a MADC representative, obtaining new approvals won’t take too long because the previous site had already been approved by the ministry of defence and all other relevant ministries.
The Vimantal Sangharsh Samiti’s spokesperson, Jitendra Memane, told TOI that the administration is unstable and that it is trying to frighten them. The spokesperson told me that even his identity and function in the project are unknown to them (Shirole). The state administration has been attempting to bully them emotionally. In 2016, they made it very clear that not a single square inch of their land would be ceded to the project. He said that they will decide what to do after everything settles down once more.
According to Deepak Shastri, the previous director of Lohegaon Airport, “The new site at Purandar has the potential to have five runways. The state government and the Ministry of civil aviation have had a report on this topic for years. Perhaps there isn’t enough motivation to push the project because the Navi Mumbai airport project is being promoted instead. I shall insist on the existing runway at Lohegaon being expanded rather than crying out for something that has been so dissolute for more than three decades.