The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has claimed that 79% of the total houses located on the site of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport have been vacated and demolished.
Last month, CIDCO officials had written individual letters to all Project Affected People (PAP) informing them that January 15 would be the last day to accept applications for the rehabilitation and resettlement scheme. PAPs who did not vacate and demolish their homes before the deadline would not be eligible for incentives under the scheme.
Slew of benefits
The benefits include allotment of a developed plot triple the roof area with 1.5 floor space index, construction aid of ₹1,000 per square feet from the government, additional aid of ₹500 per square feet from CIDCO. The CIDCO will also provide villagers with money to pay rent for 18 months.
CIDCO officials said that 2,200 of the 2,786 houses on the project site had been vacated and demolished on the penultimate day of the deadline. Last month, when the letters were sent to the PAPS, only around 1,700 houses had been vacated.
An officer from CIDCO’s rehabilitation and resettlement department said, “The previous deadline was November 30, which was extended for one last time. Since January 26, 2018, we have been pursuing the villagers to vacate their homes. We received a good response for close to three months, but then there was no movement. Now, things seem to be moving and we are hopeful to get all houses, except the unoccupied ones, vacated by 7 p.m. tomorrow.”
Of the 1,160-hectare project area of the airport, around 45 hectare is occupied by residents of 10 villages. A CIDCO official said that the villagers have vacated 95% of the houses in the five villages that form a part of the first phase of the project. The villages include Chinchpada, Kolhi, Kopar, Vaghivaliwada and Varche Ovhale.
Officials said Vaghivaliwada and Varche Ovhale have been vacated completely, while 96% of Kopar, 91% of Kolhi and 91% of Chinchpada have been vacated. Of the remaining villages, 85% of houses in Targhar and 70% in Ganeshpuri have been vacated. The figure is expected to reach 90% by Tuesday.
Land to be handed over
Around 60% of houses in Ulwe have been vacated and is expected rise to 80%. While 53% houses in Kombadbhuje had been vacated on Monday, it is expected to reach 65% by Tuesday. Of the 10 villages, Waghivali is not part of the core area and is planned to be a part of a mangrove garden.
On July 7 last year, CIDCO handed over the 1,135-hectare land for the project to the developer, GVK. CIDCO public relations officer Priya Ratambe said, “After January 15, after all the formalities are completed, the remaining land would also be handed over to the GVK.”
