Navi Mumbai: The All-Party Action Committee (APAC) put up a nameplate of PAP's leader late D B Patil at three entry gates of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on August 9. They alleged that the state government has been delaying in sending a proposal to the Aviation Ministry for final approval.
Last year in July, the state cabinet cleared a proposal to name the NMIA after the late D B Patil, who had led several farmers and landowners protests in the Panvel district when the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) had acquired land in the area in the 1970s and '80s.
'Villagers aggrieved as they worship DB Patil'
However, Dashrath Bhagat, president of APAC alleged that despite the state cabinet approval of the name, a proposal in a prescribed manner has not yet been sent to the Aviation Ministry in Delhi for approval. “There is a lot of resentment among villagers as they worship late DB Patil,” said Bhagat, adding that Patil is symbolic of every farmer and villager who lost their lives for PAPs rights.
Earlier, on August 3, the members of APAC held a meeting at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hall of Agri Samaj Mandal in Panvel and decided to put the nameplate at three entry gates of the upcoming airport. On August 9, they put up nameplates at Targhar, Ulwe, and Chinchpada.
APAC sent letter to CM Eknath Shinde and DCM Fadnavis to accelerate action.
A delegation of the All-Party Action Committee led by Dashrath Patil and Santosh Kene gave a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendraji Fadnavis on June 24, 2023, and urged them to send the proposal to the central government without delay in view of the strong sentiment of the Bumiputras (son of the soil) in the state.
Dashrath Bhagat said that they expect the state government to send a proposal as early as possible or they will hit the road again. “A protest march will be taken from Azad Maidan to Mantralaya if there is further delay,” said Bhagat.
