Residents of Air Cargo Complex in a tussle with airport authorities over a piece of land the former claims was taken over by the Raj during World War II
Residents of Air Cargo Complex in a tussle with airport authorities over a piece of land the former claims was taken over by the Raj during World War II
The ongoing tug of war between residents of Air Cargo Complex and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) over possession of a prized plot near Sahar is the legacy of the British Raj.
The trigger of the latest conflict between the warring parties is a borewell on the controversial plot close to the airport.
A tanker water supplier admitted to filling water from the borewell from the disputed land and supplying the same to corporate offices
Residents, who claim that the land was taken over by the British government for defence purposes during World War II only for six months, pump out thousands of litres water from there every day.
"The British government took over the land from us for a short period after the notification of World War II was announced in 1942.
The notification mentioned that the land would be given back to the owners after six months.
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But Mumbai airport is making a false claim on the land, it solely belongs to us," said Roy A Creado, a local resident who claims to be the owner of the land.
"The borewell is mine and I have involved private tankers to supply water in the neighboring areas. I also have a restaurant on this plot which is closed due to some pending clearances," added Creado.
Social activist Nicholas Almeida agreed with Creado. "The land belongs to local residents.
After the British government acquired the land it only compensated a few people, those who were not compensated started farming on the land.
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The airport authorities should be thankful to us as we have safeguarded the land till date or else jhuggis might have sprouted in the plot," he said.
"We are ready for talks with MIAL.
But they should first stop using government machinery to take possession of the land, they should pay some compensation on humanitarian ground and stop harassing the locals with government power," Almeida further added.
On the other hand, the Mumbai Airport Authority (GVK) is pursuing the case with different government departments to take the possession of the land, and it claims that the land belongs to them.
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"The land belongs to us, and we have all the documents to establish our possession on it. We have also informed the authorities including the local police about the encroachment.
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As the matter is subjudice, we are waiting for the court verdict to come in," said an MIAL spokesperson.
Water suppliers
Yogesh Water Suppliers, which has six tankers, admitted to filling water from the disputed land and supplying the same to corporate offices. "We have six tankers and we supply waters to the corporate offices in the nearby areas," said an office staff who picked up the phone.
Airport land
Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a consortium of GVK Industries Limited (GVK) and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), was appointed to carry out the modernisation of Mumbai Airport in February 2006. According to a report submitted by GVK to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the total land meant for the airport's operations consists of 936 acres (3.79 km2) of which the actual encroached land is 262 acres (1.06 km2) against the government estimate of 147 acres (0.59 km2) and land under litigation is 34 acres (140,000 m2).
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Juhu airport
Juhu Aerodrome functioned as the sole airport of Mumbai until after World War II. Due to operational constraints, a new terminal building was made by June 1948 and used by Air India to inaugurate its maiden international flight to London. Initially under the aegis of the Public Works Department, It was named after the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz where the airfield was located. Santa Cruz Airport remained the name until the new international terminal became operational at nearby Sahar in 1981.
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