Purandar Airport Update: Rs 6,000 Crore Loan Cleared, Land Acquisition To Begin At Rs 1.5 Crore Per Acre

Pune: The Maharashtra government has moved ahead with the long-pending land acquisition process for the proposed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport in Purandar near Pune. The state has already cleared a loan of Rs 6,000 crore from HUDCO to fund the project, and Rs 500 crore has been released to the district administration in the first phase.

Officials said the compensation for land has been fixed at Rs 1.5 crore per acre. The payment process is expected to begin on May 4, and the money will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of affected farmers through the district administration. Authorities have said the process will follow a “first-come, first served” basis.

The land acquisition will cover around 3,000 hectares in the first phase. Villages in Purandar taluka have already been identified for the airport project. Farmers from these areas have submitted their consent letters to the district administration, officials said.

Along with land, the valuation of houses, trees, wells and orchards will be done separately as part of the compensation process. The district administration has said it will ensure transparency in the entire process.

The Special Purpose Authority responsible for the airport project will handle the loan burden. CIDCO holds the largest share in the authority at 51 per cent, while MIDC, MADC and PMRDA are also part of it.

Officials said all preliminary procedures for land acquisition have been completed. The final approval for the compensation rate was recently cleared by the state government’s high-powered committee and later forwarded for ministerial approval.

The district administration has prepared a plan to complete the land acquisition process within the next six months. Authorities have said that the structured payment system and phased funding from the loan will help speed up the work and avoid delays in the airport project.