NMIA Resettlement: Flights take off, but some promises to PAPs remain unfulfilled

Land and Rehabilitation Package

The Navi Mumbai airport, which started operations on Wednesday, is spread over 2,268 hectares, with the core airport area covering 1,161 hectares. Much of this land belonged to more than 3,500 households across 10 villages, all of which now fall within the core airport zone.

The villages affected by the project are Chinchpada, Kopar, Kolhi, Ulwe, Varche Owale, Waghivaliwada, Ganeshpuri, Targhar, Kombadbhuje and Vaghivali. Soon after the airport project was announced, residents of these villages demanded compensation of Rs 50 crore per hectare. After prolonged negotiations, the government and PAPs arrived at a settlement.

As part of the rehabilitation package framed by CIDCO, PAPs were assured that families whose houses were acquired would be allotted land up to three times the size of their original homes to build new houses.

CIDCO also introduced a 22.5 per cent developed land scheme as a key component of the package. Under the scheme, landowners were entitled to receive developed land equal to 22.5 per cent of the area acquired. In practical terms, for every 100 square metres of land taken, the landowner could receive 22.5 square metres of developed land. These plots were allotted in planned urban nodes around the airport, with the expectation that land values would rise as Navi Mumbai expanded.

Another stated objective of the rehabilitation plan was to provide PAPs with access to urban infrastructure. CIDCO said resettlement areas would be developed with roads, water supply, drainage, electricity, schools, markets and health facilities, offering displaced families better living conditions than those in their original rural or semi-rural settlements.

Rehabilitation Done, But Civic Facilities Lag

In most cases, CIDCO has followed the land allotment agreed upon under the rehabilitation package, with PAPs being resettled and provided alternative land. However, residents such as Bhagat say their main grievance lies in the poor condition of the rehabilitation areas.

PAPs from Ulwe, Targhar, Kombadbhuje and Ganeshpuri, who have been resettled in Sectors 24, 25 and 25A of Vahal village in the Ulwe node, complain of inadequate infrastructure, including broken roads, overflowing drains and congested housing.

“The land I gave to CIDCO had a courtyard, a fishing pond and clean air,” said Devaram Bhagat, a PAP living in the Ulwe rehabilitation settlement. “Here, we have potholed roads, overflowing gutters, narrow lanes and buildings packed closely together. We gave our land believing it would benefit the nation and improve our children’s lives. Instead, after coming here many homes have lost their elderly members who could not adjust to the cramped urban conditions.”

Residents acknowledge that some PAPs have benefited financially from the additional land allotted to them. Several landowners have entered into development agreements, allowing six- and seven-storey residential buildings to come up on their plots. Flats in these buildings are sold in the market, with both builders and original landowners sharing the proceeds. As a result, villages that once had scattered houses spread over large areas have transformed into dense vertical settlements.

“A large number of multi-storey buildings have come up, with one-room kitchens and one-bedroom flats being sold,” said Prem Patil, an activist from Kopar village. “But the infrastructure has not kept pace. Roads get flooded during the monsoon, and buyers are now hesitant to invest in these localities. Property values have begun to fall.”

Residents point out that the contrast is particularly stark between the rehabilitation pockets in Ulwe and neighbouring areas, which have wider roads and better civic amenities.

“We were sold a dream,” said Shridhar Patil, another PAP. “During negotiations, we were treated with respect by senior officials. Today, our children have no playgrounds, our only crematorium is in poor condition, and basic facilities are missing. With the airport now functional, we feel our role ended the moment our land was taken.”

Assurances on Shares and Employment Remain Unfulfilled

Another key promise made during negotiations was economic participation in the airport project. PAPs say CIDCO had assured them that each affected family would be allotted 100 shares in the company developing the airport.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), which is developing and will operate the airport, is a joint venture between Adani Airports Holdings Ltd, which holds a 74 per cent stake, and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which holds the remaining 26 per cent. PAPs claim that no shares have been allotted to them so far.

“CIDCO did promise that shares would be given to PAPs. It was their responsibility to ensure that this was done,” said Prem Patil. “Till date, however, we have not heard a word from the agency.”

Employment was another assurance linked to the land acquisition process. The airport, once fully operational, is expected to generate over one lakh jobs. PAPs say the state government had promised that children of affected families would be given vocational training to help them qualify for airport-related employment.

“When CIDCO was negotiating with locals a decade ago, it promised skill training for PAPs’ children so they could get jobs at the airport,” said Chandrakant Patil, a former police officer turned activist from Kopar village. “More than ten years have passed, and the only training offered was for beauty parlours and making papadums.”

It was only in March 2025 that CIDCO announced it was outsourcing a vocational training programme for PAPs’ wards. The courses listed included Customer Service Executive, Airline Baggage Handler, Airport Terminal Operations Manager, Airport Cargo Operations and Airline Ground Staff.

Of these, only the Customer Service Executive course has commenced so far, starting on March 18, 2025, and being conducted by Vipra Skill India Private Limited. Patil said that the 30 students enrolled in the course are yet to receive their certificates.

While a detailed questionnaire sent to CIDCO seeking clarity on the status of share distribution and the number of PAPs trained at skill development centres for aviation-related activities remained unanswered, a senior CIDCO official said that since the project’s inception, the agency has spent approximately Rs 2,000 crore on the rehabilitation of PAPs and land acquisition for the airport. “CIDCO has ensured that all the PAPs affected get their dues. We have a complete rehabilitation and resettlement area with all the physical, social and cultural infrastructure. It is, however, an ongoing process and we will ensure that all the issues pertaining to the PAPs are addressed,” a senior CIDCO official said.

Meanwhile, repeated agitations by PAPs have ensured that some local residents were absorbed into airport-related work, largely in unskilled roles. However, PAPs complain that the state failed to take proactive steps to prepare their children for skilled jobs in the aviation sector. They argue that without timely training and support, most opportunities created by the project have remained beyond their reach.

“This shows the seriousness with which institutions treat people who gave up their land for projects meant to serve the nation,” Patil said. “Officials think we should remain silent because we received land. They do not understand that we sacrificed our way of life for this project. This is not the life people were promised.”