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Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje International Airport at Purandar moved a significant step closer to reality on Tuesday, when Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi announced the final land acquisition compensation rates for farmers and landowners across Purandar taluka’s seven villages that will make way for the airport. The airport is expected to generate large-scale employment and business opportunities for residents of Purandar taluka and Pune district at large.The base rate for land has been fixed at Rs 1,61,01,925 per acre. However, Dudi clarified that this is only the floor. Farmers who have wells, borewells, fruit trees, or structures such as houses and sheds on their land will receive additional compensation on top of this amount.
“On average, a landowner can expect to receive around Rs 2 crore per acre,” Dudi said, accounting for the value of assets on the land.
Compensation for trees and wells
Beyond the land price, separate valuations have been done for assets on the acquired land, and farmers will receive double the assessed value of each asset (a 100 per cent solatium on top of the assessed amount).
For fruit trees, the agriculture department has set rates ranging from Rs 4,000-6,000 for coconut trees, Rs 11,000-13,000 for custard apple and fig trees, Rs 13,000-17,000 for chikoo, Rs 40,000-50,000 for tamarind, and Rs 50,000-60,000 for mango trees.
Forest trees have been valued by the forest department, with rates ranging from Rs 2,044 for Indian Jujube (bor) to Rs 21,979 for peepal, banyan, and Indian beech tree (karanj).Story continues below this ad
Wells have been assessed by Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, Pune zilla parishad, and others, and are valued at Rs 3 lakh to Rs 17 lakh depending on their size, while borewells are valued at Rs 40,000-60,000. Houses and pucca structures will be compensated at Rs 3 lakh to Rs 40 lakh based on the built-up area, as assessed by the public works department using the district schedule of rates (DSR).
Seven villages and total land area
The acquisition covers 1,216.75 hectares across seven villages in Purandar taluka. The village-wise breakdown is: Khanwadi (269.22 ha), Kumbarwalan (245.48 ha), Ekhantpur (199.03 ha), Paragaon (188.07 ha), Vanpuri (154.06 ha), Munjawadi (82.56 ha), and Udachiwadi (58.34 ha).
Consent letters
As of May 3, 244 consent letters were received from landowners across the seven villages, covering an area of 174.64 hectares. Of these, 216 letters covering 157.43 hectares were received prior to May 3, while 28 letters covering 17.21 hectares were received in the final days.
Village-wise, Paragaon leads with 145 consent letters (42.28 ha), followed by Khanwadi with 38 (37.23 ha), Vanpuri (36.78 ha), Ekhantpur with 28 (27.04 ha), Munjawadi with 5 (3.07 ha), and Udachiwadi (11 ha). No consent letters have yet been received from Kumbarwalan village.
What farmers need to submitStory continues below this ad
Landowners who wish to give their consent must submit a consent letter and an undertaking before the deadline. Along with these, they must provide an identity document (Aadhaar or voter ID), a no-dues certificate from their cooperative society or bank, a copy of their PAN card, a cancelled cheque or joint bank account details in a nationalised bank, and three passport-size photographs per account holder.
The compensation will be transferred directly to the landowner’s bank account via RTGS through the Collector’s office, ensuring complete transparency, Dudi said.
Landowners who do not submit consent letters risk losing certain benefits. If a compulsory acquisition order is issued under section 33(3) of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, the benefits available under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2019, including a 10 per cent developed plot return and other welfare measures, will not be applicable, a press release issued by the Pune collector’s office mentioned.
Dudi urged landowners to come forward and s
