Legal challenge mounts against NAINA; villages file first writ petition in Bombay High Court to cancel project | Mumbai news
Navi Mumbai: Opposition to the state government’s Navi Mumbai International Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project has taken a legal turn, with five villages under the Chipale Group Panchayat (CGP) in Panvel filing a writ petition in the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the scheme. This marks the first legal challenge against the controversial urban development plan.
NAINA is a planned city spanning 225.59 square kilometres and covering 94 villages around the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport. The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has been designated as the special planning authority for the project.
The petition was filed by Vilas Phadke, a former Zilla Parishad member and resident of Vihighar, on behalf of five CGP villages—Chipale, Vihighar, Bhokarpada, Bonshet, and Koproli. Phadke and other opponents argue that NAINA is a “land grabbing scheme” that has been opposed by farmers for over a decade. “All 23 villages under various Gram Panchayats have passed resolutions against it,” he said. “We are not against development, but our demand is that land acquisition should either follow the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 or our villages should be included in the Panvel Municipal Corporation, with all homes outside the original villages regularised.”
The petition challenges the project’s implementation, alleging violations of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and the 73rd Amendment, which empowers Gram Panchayats. “NAINA is a land scam designed to benefit the builder lobby, reducing villagers to a state of dependency,” Phadke added. “Unlike other municipal areas where land was acquired with due compensation, here, the government has simply bypassed acquisition norms.”
Project-Affected People (PAP) leader Sudhakar Patil raised concerns that villagers’ homes could be declared encroachments and demolished. “Since no gaothan expansion was permitted, villagers had no choice but to build homes on agricultural land as their families grew. Now, CIDCO is using its authority to pressure them by restricting permissions for any development. The legal action has rekindled hope, and other villages are also preparing to approach the court.”
In response to the growing opposition, the state government recently assured the assembly that no action will be taken in the NAINA region without consulting stakeholders. A meeting with deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who oversees urban development, is expected soon.
Industries Minister Uday Samant reaffirmed, “CIDCO will not proceed without taking Gram Panchayats, public representatives, and NAINA PAPs into confidence.” Shinde, in a written statement, clarified, “CIDCO will include PAP houses within the 40% land area allocated to them. Therefore, the claim that 5,038 PAP houses will be demolished is false.”
