Mumbai: Resentment among villages affected by the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project is intensifying, posing fresh challenges for the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). Villagers impacted by the project have filed 10 petitions in the Bombay High Court, questioning its legality—specifically targeting NAINA Project Phases 2 and 7.
Additionally, an environmental expert is preparing to file a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Delhi, challenging the project’s environmental clearance.
Suresh Thakur, president of the 95 Villages Project-Affected Action Committee, alleged that CIDCO now faces major setbacks as legal action escalates. "We have opposed this project since 2013. Initially, CIDCO promised to return 60% of the acquired land to owners but later reduced it to just 40%. Despite years of hunger strikes and protests, CIDCO kept delaying discussions," he said.
Over the past eight years, CIDCO has approved 12 projects under the NAINA scheme. In response, the 95 affected villages formed an action committee to raise awareness and pursue legal action. Eight project-affected individuals have filed petitions highlighting concerns such as the loss of farmers’ livelihoods, the awarding of Rs 7,932 crore worth of contracts without consent, and the cancellation of land records. The petitioners are also seeking a stay on these developments.
Another major point of contention is CIDCO’s alleged land transactions with the Alibag District Collector for grazing lands meant for public use. Villagers are demanding that these lands be returned. Several Gram Panchayats have also passed resolutions calling for the cancellation of the NAINA project.
Thakur further accused CIDCO of misusing the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, to push the project forward without following due constitutional procedures. He also warned that awarding contracts worth thousands of crores without proper land acquisition could put CIDCO in financial distress.