Buoyed up by 90% of owners agreeing to give their land for the Coimbatore International Airport expansion, the district administration has asked the state government to release a fund of Rs 2,000 crore to pay as compensation for the land owners. The administration has shot off a letter to the state government last month seeking the fund.
In total, 627.89 acres of land, including 137 acres of defence land and 28 acres of poromboke land, would be acquired for the airport expansion.
The district administration has fixed a price of Rs 1,500 per sq ft for housing land and Rs 900 per sq ft for agriculture land. This would be the highest compensation to be given to the general public by the state government. The authorities have to raze down 634 houses for the land acquisition. Over 90% of the land owners have agreed to accept the compensation and 10% people are fighting against the acquisition.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has been trying to expand the Coimbatore International Airport for more than 10 years. Land acquisition has been a major bottleneck for the district administration to implement the expansion project. The AAI plans to expand runway from 9,500 feet to 12,500 feet. It has demanded the state government to acquire at least 1,000 acres of land. However, residents of Chinniyampalayam and Irugur panchayats were up in arms when the expansion plan was announced a decade ago.
Two years ago, the district administration decided to acquire 627.89 acres of the land in the eastern side of the airport to expand the runway and terminal buildings.
A senior officer from the revenue department said: “The Indian Air Force (IAF) has 122 acres of land, army has 5.82 acres and the Indian Navy has 6.38 acres allotted to them in 1944. We promised them to provide 134 acres of land in Kanchipuram district and a proposal was sent to the defence ministry by the special district revenue officer (airport land acquisition) Radhamani. We have 28 acres of poromboke in the eastern side of the airport. We have to acquire 465.89 acres, including agricultural lands and house sites, from 4,399 people.”
He said the state government may provide more than Rs 2,000 crore as compensation for the land acquisition. Land owners will get decent compensation from the state government, he added.
According to the revenue department, around 90% of land owners have agreed to give their lands for the airport expansion. “We are trying to convince the rest 10% to accept the compensation. But some of them are instigating others not to handover their lands to the government. We hope that the land acquisition process will be over in April-end. Then only the state government will sanction the compensation fund of more than Rs 2,000 crore,” the officer said.
