Goa to hike compensation to farmers losing land for airport

PANAJI: The Goa government today promised to hike compensation to farmers, who lost their land for the proposed greenfield airport at Mopa on the Goa-Maharashtra border.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the state Legislative Assembly that the government is drafting a land acquisition policy to hike compensation to farmers as well as give them benefits like jobs in the airport, for which they have lost their land.

As promised, Parrikar said, farmers who had to give up their land for the Mopa airport would be paid between Rs 150 and Rs 300 per square metre, depending on the type of land and the type of ownership.

Responding to various issues raised by legislators during speech on demands for grants on the floor of the house today, he said that the state government had already completed the process to acquire land for the airport.

Final possession of land would be taken on April 8, the chief minister said, adding that the government will take care of farmers who have given up their land for the project, for the next 30 years.

According to the reply tabled on the floor of the house, the state government acquired land from villages like Casarvornem, Chandel, Varconda, Uguem and Mopa in Pernem taluka.

The chief minister announced today that developmental activity within seven kilometres of the airport would be frozen, so that the thick forest around it would be preserved.

He said that the construction of Mopa airport will not result in discontinuation of the existing Dabolim airport.

He said that the Dabolim facility will be "saturated" even after its expansion.

"Dabolim handles 3.7 million passengers every year and the number will go to 5 milion in 2015 and 5.5 million in 2016," he said, adding that even after expansion it would be able to handle only 4 million passengers annually.

He also said that the construction of the Chippi airport in Maharashtra would not dent the prospects of Mopa airport, as the Maharashtra airport is smaller.