Airport expansion - landowners seek better and uniform compensation

Representatives of Vivasayigal Vazhvurimai Pathukappu Iyakkam petitioned the District Collector on Monday seeking better and uniform compensation for the several hundred acres of land to be acquired from them for expansion of Coimbatore International Airport.

Secretary of the association R. Kumar said that there was a vast difference in the rate fixed for the 450 acres of private land to be acquired for the expansion. While it has been fixed as low as Rs. 15 lakh an acre in some areas in the recent rate fixation negotiation meetings, he claimed that market price for an acre was Rs. 5 crore – when acquisition was notified in the gazette in 2013, he said.

They also said that only a small portion of land was left out with some farmers after the Airport Authority of India (AAI) acquired a major portion of it. They wanted the AAI to acquire the remaining unusable portions as well, as it could not be used by the owners.

P. Ramesh Kumar of Irugur (from whom 4.5 acres is under acquisition) said that the Chinniyampalayam to Irugur Road and Venkittapuram to Kurumbapalayam Road will be disconnected when the runway and new approach road to the airport are laid. “The government should lay 40 feet wide service road alongside the boundary of the airport to make the nearby private lands usable,” he said.

Landowners also sought better compensation for house sites, houses, trees and wells that were part of the land under acquisition for the airport and runway expansion and tax exemption for the compensation.