WHEN the Brihanmumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) earmarked 45 sq km of prime land for the proposed second international airport in the Rewas-Alibag-Mandwa region, the Maharashtra government anticipated easy pickings and happy landings. As of now, neither seems possible.
A fortnight ago the office of the district collector of Alibag was besieged by a 7,000-strong irate morcha. It was the largest demonstration ever witnessed in Alibag—a weekend retreat 12 km across Bombay by boat and 115 km by road. The project is now being opposed not only by the 14-village Shetkari and Machimar Bachav And-olan Samiti, a local organisation, but also by the members of the elite Sailing Club and the Rewas-Alibag-Mandwa Association representing the high-flying owners of weekend homes. With liquor baron Vijay Mallya supposedly having initiated legal action against the project and locals up in arms, the state government has just begun tasting the first dose of a spirited opposition.
A study carried out two decades ago by the Tata Consulting Engineers recommended this area for four reasons: clear flight paths, negligible urban growth, the absence of hills and accessibility via a trans-harbour link. More recently, a pre-feasibility study jointly carried out by the Hinduja Group, the State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra (SIICOM) and a British consortium including the UK Civil Aviation
Authority stated that by the year 2005, the present airport, Sahar, would not be able to cater to the expected traffic of 23.5 million passengers. If things go according to plan, the new airport, which will cost $3.6 billion, will be commissioned by the year 2003.
But the project would affect the future of 14 villages and the 30,000-odd fisher folk and farmers who would be displaced. Or for that matter, Mallya's Spanish villa and fleet of vintage cars. "We are interested in our livelihood, not in politics. What is the point of giving us a bungalow on the hill and taking the sea away from us?" demands Laxman Budhaji Koli, sarpanch of Rewas-Borni which is home to 300 fishing boats.
The plan would also violate the Environmental Act which prohibits reclamation or development within the prohibited zone of 500 m from the high tide line. "It was a green belt till recently. Why has the government suddenly realised that they can make it otherwise?" asks activist Ralli Jacob.
The locals are plugging for the waste land area of Penn-Dadar as a viable alternative to the present site. Raghunath Rathod, collector, Rai-gad, agrees: "Acquisition is easier there because of the availability of government land. Resettlement and environment will be negligible issues given the nature of the land. All these problems are otherwise applicable to the Mandwa region."
And, with almost half the proposed airport area to be acquired from reclamation, environmentalists also perceive a threat to the Bombay coastline. Shyam Chainani, honorary secretary of the Bombay Environmental Action Group, argues: "The BMRDA report of 1981-2001 itself states that the belt must be protected from urbanisation. The construction of an airport will not only affect the alignment of the coastal highway, but will also result in tremendous siltation. Besides, with the Colaba-Uran link ruled out, is the Sewree-Nhava connection with Bombay feasible, given the congestion?"
For his part V. Phatak, chief of planning, BMRDA, points out: "The allocation is based on the site selection by the Airport Authority of India and subsequent progress would depend on the investment decisions made by them and the state government."
To the locals, however, all talk of planning is just a euphemism for vested interests plotting in connivance with the state government. That the Hindujas have been involved hasn't made matters easy. "Is the government an agent for the Hindujas? Do they plan to acquire our land with a compensatory couple of lakhs and then allow the Hindujas to make crores?" says Ramchandra Gavand, member of the group panchayat.
And the morcha to the collector's office was just a show of solidarity. Locals are now preparing to take their grievances to the Prime Minister. "The last time our agitation was peaceful. It may not be so next time," notes Datta Patil, a former MLA. With the high court directing that the draft plan of BMRDA (1996-2001) be made available in Marathi so that the locals would understand the implications, the residents are jubilant that the first tidings have turned in their favour. And now neither the takeoff nor the landing for the proposed international airport will be entirely smooth.
