Kolhapur Airport Gets Revised Funding Approval

The decision follows a proposal from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), which oversees airport development across the state. As per the GR, the revised budget provides for acquiring 30.25 hectares of land. This includes 26.65 hectares identified through joint measurement and a further 3.60 hectares required for diverting the Kolhapur–Hupari State Highway and constructing connecting roads.

The state noted that compensation costs have risen significantly due to the diversity of land types involved. These include jirayat farmland, horticultural plots, non-agricultural parcels, residential development areas, highway-facing land and industrial plots, all of which must be compensated at prevailing market rates.

Kolhapur Airport, previously managed by MIDC, was handed back to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in 2013. It is among nine airports covered under the Centre’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme. To streamline development across these airports, MADC was appointed the key coordinator under a tripartite agreement signed in 2016.

The state has previously allocated funds for multiple phases of land acquisition: Rs 250 million in 2018 for 5.81 hectares, Rs 260 million in 2020 for an additional 64 acres, and Rs 2.12 billion in 2022 for expanded acquisition in Mudshingi and Tamgaon villages. All past disbursements have now been reconciled, according to the GR.