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To make the land acquisition process hassle-free and effective, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has assigned a research study to Ahmedabad-based CEPT University. This will be used to formulate a policy framework for land procurement for new airports and expansion of existing ones.
The research, assigned to the Centre for Urban Land and Real Estate Policy (CULREP) at CEPT University last month, will explore different alternative strategies for land acquisition including readjustment for greenfield and brownfield airport projects.
“We will try to develop a model that can be scaled up for bigger acquisitions. If not an acquisition, it would be readjustment or something similar,” said Prof Rutool Sharma, one of the core team members of the project.
The research project, funded by AAI, is likely to be completed in six-seven months.
India’s civil aviation market is likely to become the largest in the world by 2030 with a surge in passenger traffic and investments. AAI has laid down plans to increase the number of airports to 250 by that year.
State governments are typically expected to provide land for greenfield and brownfield airport projects.
Traditionally, such land was being compulsorily acquired. More recently, the experience of many State governments revealed that compulsory acquisition is often time consuming, expensive and prone to political resistance.
“Therefore, AAI intends to explore an alternative policy framework of land procurement for airport projects — one which does not rely on compulsory acquisition of land,” said Sharma.
The study will recommend a broader Policy for Land Procurement for Airport Projects. This policy will be based on review of State legislation and case studies of new and existing airports, said Sharma.
The research will take place under the direction and guidance of Bimal Patel, President, CEPT University, and Prof Vidyadhar Phatak, Dean, Faculty of Planning. The execution of the study will be undertaken by the joint team, comprising three professors from CEPT University.
The team will be assisted by professionals comprising geomatic experts, planners, urban designers and architects.
Patel said: “Traditional methods of land acquisition have been unsuccessful in many places because of the time and costs involved in the process. There is an urgent need to develop an alternate framework for land procurement for large projects... As part of this study, we will review some of these mechanisms and recommend the most suitable alternative to land procurement for large projects."
These alternatives may also be suitable for land procurement for other large projects like industrial clusters, highways, ports among others.
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