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The last major hurdle for kickstarting the Navi Mumbai international airport project has been removed. The breakthrough has come barely two days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends a meeting in New Delhi to discuss the bottlenecks in the progress of the greenfield (new) airport at Panvel.
After months of discussions, the project-affected persons (PAPs) have finally agreed to the state government’s offer of 22.5 per cent developed land for every hectare of land acquired. The PAPs have also withdrawn their demand for cash compensation. The agreement for acquisition of a total 671 hectares of such land, including 292 hectares in the core aeronautical area, will pave way for the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), the nodal agency for the project, to invite requests for qualification (RFQs).
The PAPs, who had earlier pressed for compensation of Rs 20 crore per hectare, had first insisted on allocation of 40 per cent and then 35 per cent of developed land.
After hectic negotiations, it was decided they would get one floor space index (FSI) for 12.5 per cent of developed land and 2.5 per cent FSI for another 10 per cent of developed land. Government and Cidco officials indicated the valuation of two FSIs came to Rs 25 crore per hectare. Further, the PAPs would get three times more land to the current residential plot they occupy.
Of the 2,268 hectares required for the airport project, 1,572 hectares (government and private) are already in Cidco’s possession.
The agreement was arrived at after a meeting convened by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Cidco Chairman Pramod Hindurao told Business Standard: “PAPs will benefit a lot from today’s compensation package.”
Cidco had earlier drawn a back-up plan and identified alternative spot for the airport — just in case the PAPs did not budge from their position. The Bombay High Court had recently removed a major obstacle to the project when on October 29 it allowed removal of mangroves from a particular area to facilitate the project.
PAPs were agreeable to the government's offer of allotment of 22.5 per cent land, their chief negotiator R C Gharat confirmed.
“The value of the 22.5 per cent developed land will go up in the years to come. Besides, the development of airport will open a number of avenues for growth and progress of PAPs.”
He said the government also offered an option of compensation to be provided under the new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, under which PAPs would be entitled to double the price of ready reckoner for their land, in addition to 12.5 per cent developed land. Further, PAPs would have an option to approach court.
The airport project cost, originally envisaged at Rs 4,766 crore in 1998 for handling 40 million passengers annually, has risen over three times to Rs 14,573 crore. The airport is now projected to handle 60 million passengers a year.
LONG-DRAWN AFFAIR
A timeline of various approvals received
- Jul 31, ’07: Civil aviation ministry
- Aug 17, ’07: Cidco board of directors
- Jul 30, ’08: Maharashtra Cabinet
- Oct 11, ’10: Defence ministry
- Nov 22, ’10: Ministry of environment & forests
- Jun 6, ’13: Wildlife
- Jul 12, ’13: Forest department
- Oct 29, ’13: Bombay HC (for removal of mangroves)
