Satej Patil bats for residents affected by airport expansion

Kolhapur: Congress MLC Satej Patil demanded that the long-pending issue of rehabilitation of the families affected by land acquisition for the airport expansion be addressed immediately.
The residents around the airport threatened to immolate themselves over the compensation and rehabilitation issues. Patil intervened and took them to district collector Amol Yedge and held a discussion to resolve the issues.
Patil said govt is proceeding with the land acquisition required for the expansion of the airport. Govt requires an additional 32 acres. The acquisition is delayed, and private negotiations are going on.
Patil said the resettlement of the families from Laxmiwadi is yet to be completed. He said 47 families were affected; however, only 16 have been considered for rehabilitation. "We demanded that the local residents should get fair compensation, and they must get fair resettlement," said Patil, who assured that he will meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis if the issues are not resolved soon.
District collector Yedge, however, assured that the concerns of the residents will be sorted out in the next six weeks.