Navi Mumbai airport project will take off in three months,state tells Centre

Delay in acquisition of 671 hectares of private land have cast a shadow on the vital project,which is aimed at decongesting the air traffic over the Mumbai airport.

The airport project,conceptualised in 1998,has already seen a 305% cost escalation,from Rs 4,766 crore to Rs 14,573 crore in 2012. A CIDCO official said the cost was rising at the rate of 10 per cent every year. Disagreement over compensation is said to be the reason for the delay.

The civil aviation secretary also reviewed the proposed airport projects at Chakan in Pune and Juhu aerodrome in Mumbai. With the NMIA project being delayed,these projects are being pursued as alternatives to decongest air traffic over the Mumbai airport,officials said

At the meeting,the state sought ways to expedite handing over of 59 hectares of land belonging to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and earmarked for rehabilitation of project affected people.

The state government said that about 1,240 hectares of developable land in Navi Mumbai would be lost if a new coastal zone management plan drafted under the new Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules was approved without modification. A high-tide line drawn in the new Coastal Zone Management Program has moved a kilometer landwards due to ingress of saline water. The aviation ministry has agreed to discuss these demands with the Union ministries concerned.