Pune Municipal Corporation Approves ₹30.83 Crore Land Acquisition For New Lohegaon Airport Access Road

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Standing Committee has approved a proposal to acquire land worth ₹30.83 crore for the construction of a new 30-metre-wide access road to support the expansion of Lohegaon Airport.

The civic body will acquire 14,629.76 square metres of land to build the new road, which will replace the existing airport approach road that passes through the Defence area.

Standing Committee Chairman Srinath Bhimale said the expansion and modernisation of Lohegaon Airport, which also functions as an Indian Air Force base, will result in the permanent closure of the current 12-metre-wide road leading to the airport.

At present, the road connecting 509 Chowk to the airport entrance passes through the Defence boundary. Once the airport expansion is completed, this route will no longer be accessible. To ensure uninterrupted connectivity, the PMC has planned a new alternative road.

The PMC's General Body had approved the design of the proposed 30-metre-wide road on February 18 this year. The proposal later received final approval from the Maharashtra government after necessary changes were made to the Development Plan.

Initially, the civic body had requested landowners to surrender the required land through Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and other compensation options. However, as the response was not satisfactory, the PMC has now decided to acquire the land under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, offering monetary compensation to the affected property owners.

The new access road is expected to play a key role in maintaining smooth connectivity to Lohegaon Airport while supporting its ongoing expansion and modernisation project.