Pune:Family disputes, not opposition, delay final stretch of Purandar airport land acquisitionWhen farmer Santosh Jagdale from Vanpuri village was approached for the acquisition of his land for the proposed Purandar airport, his family had no objection to parting with the land. However, the family has been unable to complete the consent process. The reason being a pending partition dispute. The land is jointly owned by three brothers and two sisters, and the family is yet to reach a legal settlement on ownership and sharing of compensation.“We all agree that the airport should come up and we are ready to give the land. But until our family partition is legally settled, there is uncertainty about who will receive how much compensation. We have requested the administration to help us resolve the issue quickly so that the money comes directly into our accounts instead of remaining stuck in court,” Jagdale said.Jagdale’s case is but one among several such cases standing in the way of completing land acquisition for the proposed airport. While around 80% of the acquisition process has been completed, a large number of landowners are yet to give consent – not because of resistance to the airport project but because of internal disputes among family members over inheritance, ownership and distribution of compensation.The pending cases are spread across the seven villages identified for the project — Vanpuri, Udachiwadi, Kumbharvalan, Pargaon, Ekhatpur, Udachiwadi Khurd and Munjawadi.The acquisition process began on May 7, with officials noting that nearly 100% of the landholders expressed willingness to part with their land during the survey. The state government fixed the compensation at ₹1.61 crore per acre. Under a government notification issued on February 9 under section 32(1) of the Maharashtra Industrial Development (MID) Act, the state originally approved the acquisition of 1,216.75 hectares across seven villages namely Vanpuri, Udachiwadi, Kumbharvalan, Ekhatpur, Pargaon, Munjawadi and Khanwadi. Of the 1,216.75 hectares, 182.13 hectares were to be acquired in Udachiwadi; 49.52 hectares in Vanpuri; 11.18 hectares in Khanwadi; and 10.36 hectares in Pargaon. For several families however, the airport project became synonymous with unresolved ancestral property disputes. With multiple legal heirs claiming rights over the same land, owners could not give consent till the matter was settled, either through mutual agreement or court orders.In Pargaon, landowner Sunita More said that the dispute over her family’s land began after the death of her father, with several legal heirs claiming ownership.“There is no disagreement about the project. The dispute is entirely within the family over inheritance rights. Until all legal heirs agree or the court decides the matter, we cannot complete the consent process. We want the issue to be resolved as early as possible because we also need the compensation,” she said.In Udachiwadi Khurd, a farmer who did not wish to be identified as the matter is pending in court, said that a civil suit filed by the extended family members has prevented him from completing the consent formalities.“My relatives have filed a civil case over ownership of ancestral land. We are not against the airport. We only want the ownership dispute to be settled first so that every legal heir gets his rightful share without future litigation,” he said.Recognising that family and legal disputes have become a hurdle in completing the land acquisition process, the Pune district administration has started weekly grievance redressal meetings with affected farmers every Monday at Purandar and Saswad.Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi said that the administration is trying to resolve disputes through discussions so that compensation does not remain blocked in courts.“We have started weekly meetings with farmers to resolve legal disputes, family property issues, and other pending matters related to the airport project. Our aim is to settle these issues before compensation gets locked in court. We have received a positive response, and our objective is to ensure that every consenting landowner gets compensation directly into their bank account,” Dudi said.According to Dudi, around 80% of the landowners have already given their consent while another 5 to 10% are expected to come forward soon.“Some farmers are waiting for all family members to agree, but we are encouraging them to submit individual consent. We have also requested courts in Saswad and Shivajinagar to prioritise pending land-related cases so that compensation can be released directly to farmers,” he said.The administration has so far disbursed nearly ₹1,150 crore in compensation, while another ₹1,000 crore is expected to be made available within the next few days. The district administration aims to complete compensation for 50% of the acquired land by July 15 and ensure that nearly all the eligible farmers receive payment by August 15.Dudi also clarified that there will be no additional benefit for landowners who delay giving consent.“Some farmers have been misled into believing that those who wait will receive higher compensation. That is completely false. The compensation has already been fixed at the highest applicable rate and is being paid uniformly to all eligible landowners,” he said.With compensation payments reaching more farmers, officials expect the remaining landowners caught in family disputes to resolve their issues and complete the consent process, paving the way for the next stage in the long-pending airport project.