Airport plan right on track

Pawar said the land adjacent to the earlier plot will be acquired for the new airport.

The plan for proposed international airport at Rajgurunagar is very much on track, said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar when asked about the progress of land acquisition for the airport project.

Pawar said the land adjacent to the earlier plot will be acquired for the new airport. We are willing to allocate the required amount for the land acquisition. The acquisition process will start soon and the funds will be allocated accordingly, said Pawar.

The site,adjacent to the previously proposed Chakan site,is about 37 km from Pune city.

MADC,the nodal agency responsible for acquiring the land for the proposed airport,has already submitted its requirements to the government.

Senior officials from the Civil Aviation Department confirmed that MADC had put forth an alternative site for the airport at Rajgurunagar a few months back.

MADC officials said the proposal sent to the government had sought 2,700 hectares for the project. Last week,the Mantralaya officials had said that they were awaiting the proposal for the land acquisition from the district administration so that they could take the process forward.

District administration officials were to forward the proposal for land acquisition this week. However,according to the officials,it was delayed as the demand for land was raised to 2,700 hectares from 1,600 hectares.

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