Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea link, Navi Mumbai airport's compensation to match

While the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has commenced the allotment of 22.5 per cent of developed land to the project affected persons (PAPs) of the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport, villagers affected by the planned Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea link freeway bridge project also have good news.

The town-planning agency revealed that recently they had a discussion with PAPs of the sea link project, and said that the villagers affected by the project would get land compensation package on the same lines as the airport scheme.

Sanjay Bhatia, managing director, CIDCO, said, "We had a talk with the PAPs from Chirle, Ghavan and Jasai villages which would be affected by the project. We discussed a land allotment scheme similar to that of the airport project and they (villagers) will take a final call by next week." This means villagers will get 22.5 per cent of the total land they give up for the project, in form of developed plots.

The sea link, which proposes building a 22.5-km bridge with six lanes connecting Sewri to Nhava Sheva, requires nearly 37 hectares of village land. 16.5 km of the bridge will be over seawater, while 5.5 km will consist of a viaduct on land. The bridge will terminate near Chirle village and its neighbouring areas in Uran.

The project, being helmed by the MMRDA, will be implemented through a public-private partnership on the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model. The estimated project cost has shot up to around Rs 11,000 crore from Rs 4,000 crore in 2005, and has a scheduled completion deadline of 2019.

Meanwhile, CIDCO on Wednesday carried out the third lottery of plots for the PAPs of the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport. This would give them 22.5 per cent of developed land in the project. The villagers will also be granted an FSI of 2 for construction on these plots.