Many of those who will lose their part of the 83 lakh plus square metres of land around Mopa would have lost everything. Land is not just a home for many poor people but it is their identity and livelihood. Many of them who do not have land titles have been living there for centuries which the village and local administration are very well aware of.
When they wait for the “Fast track” cases to decide on their eligibility to be compensated for the land on which generations have lived, a pertinent question is who is responsible for their shelter, while their shelter and land have been taken away for the swank international airport?
The Chief Minister is sensitive enough to understand that 40% is a big chunk of people who have lost their land and a decision on their compensation has not yet been reached. Of this 40% it is very likely that more than half may well be viewed as ineligible because the letter of the documents will hold more validity than the spirit of the reality of their existence in those very lands for years.
They will thank and sing praises of the government if they are given ad-hoc compensation on a trust basis, even as the cases go on. Years later if the verdict goes against them, a sensitive recovery arrangement can be worked out.
It is expected and believed that CM Sawant will understand this and be empathetic to the plight of the original settlers of Mopa, who have lost everything, even as the airport becomes profitable for the State and the well-established and powerful, who have bought acres of land whose value is escalating by the day, around the airport.
