Property registrations in Purandar taluka dips, the proposed site for the new Pune airport.The property registration department’s data revealed that the declining trend persisted in the entire taluka and not just the seven villages marked for the proposed airport.
Sub-registrar of Saswad Anil Roundhal said, “There has been an overall drop in registrations in the last two years in Purandar taluka. The pandemic only aggravated the decline. In the last four months (April-July) , Purandar taluka has registered only 43 documents. There has been nearly 20% drop in registrations in 2020-21 when compared to 2019-20.”
Purandar taluka comprises 111 villages. In 2019-20, the property registrations in the vicinity of the seven villages earmarked for the proposed airport had nosedived over 50% as compared to the previous financial year. In 2019-20, the number of registrations had plunged to 38 and the stamp duty collection stood at Rs 23.34 lakh as against 87 registrations in the seven villages — Pargaon, Ekhatpur, Munjwadi, Kumbharvalan, Udachiwadi, Vanpuri and Khanavadi — in 2018-19, amounting to the stamp duty collection of Rs 48.65 lakh.
“This year too the seven villages have not raked in much investments. With opposition from the villagers, investors or developers are not coming forward. There is absolutely no surety about the site now,” stated an official.
After the airport was proposed in Purandar, a number of projects were announced three years ago, which failed to find any takers. The residents interested in the projects are now waiting for the final decision from the new government. A developer said the investors interested in the projects about two years ago had recently told him to alert them only after there was some movement on the new airport project front.
After a Covid review meeting, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar even went on to add that there was no clarity yet about the site of the airport.
Landowners from Purandar said that they are fed up with the long wait. “Why can’t they (the government) decide on it soon? There is a lot of confusion whether the site will remain in Purandar or move back to Chakan.”
Recently, the residents of the adjacent villages from the proposed site too carried out a signature campaign that they wouldn’t allow the airport in their village. In the new proposal, which is yet to be cleared, land is to be acquired in Mavdi, Pimpri, Rajuri, Naugaon, Rise-Pise and Pandeshwar villages. Officials from the administration said there was no progress on this proposal either.
