15.6.13

Pune Airport update

After the Navi Mumbai international airport, plans to set up an international airport at Chakan in Pune have run into a cloud of uncertainty. The government is facing difficulties in acquiring land.
The initial plan was to acquire 3,300 hectares of land from seven villages in Chakan. This move has, however, faced intense opposition from locals in the villages since most of the affected land is irrigated land.
An alternative plan to set up the airport on land acquired for a private SEZ in the Khed-Chakan area has also hit a hurdle with the SEZ developer unwilling to part with all the land required for the project.
On Friday, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was briefed about the difficulties in finalising a site for the airport. As a last ditch effort, Chavan has asked officials to examine the feasibility of setting up the airport on another patch of land situated near the SEZ.
“We are trying to find a feasible solution that does not affect the SEZ project,” Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation chairman UPS Madan said. Officials of the Airports Authority of India will conduct the feasibility survey for the new site, which could take around a month. However, this patch of land is smaller, with an area of about 1,000 hectare. Madan agreed that the airport project might have to be downscaled if it were to be put to use.
With the Navi Mumbai airport facing land acquisition trouble, the government is considering Chakan airport as an option to decongest air traffic over Mumbai.

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