Navi Mumbai Airport Opening Looms Amid Fierce Backlash Over Naming Snub
As the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) gears up for its much-anticipated launch on September 30, a heated row over its naming has boiled over into open confrontation, thrusting the matter before the Bombay high court and sparking threats of widespread unrest from community leaders.
The standoff has reached a boiling point, with organizers issuing a stark deadline: rename the facility in honor of Dinkar Balu Patil by September 29, or face large-scale demonstrations across the area.
At a gathering in Vashi on Saturday, members of the Loknete D B Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport All-Party Action Committee championing the renaming push convened to plot their next steps. They agreed to request an emergency sit-down with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, but the region’s native landowners, known as bhumiputras, left no room for delay in addressing their grievances.
Talk of vague commitments won’t suffice, cautioned Bhiwandi MP Suresh Mhatre. Without a firm nod from the chief minister, he said, a significant campaign of disruption is imminent. BJP figure Kapil Patil added that project-affected persons (PAPs) insist on the change being locked in prior to the inaugural flight, irrespective of the exact timing beyond the planned September 30 rollout.
The late D B Patil, a steadfast advocate for those displaced by Navi Mumbai’s expansion, earned lasting admiration through his unyielding campaign for equitable restitution on seized properties. His advocacy paved the way for the pivotal policy granting PAPs 12.5% of developed land as compensation.
This three-year feud has intensified lately on judicial and electoral battlegrounds alike. The Prakashjhot Samajik Sanstha lodged a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court, decrying the central government’s drawn-out reluctance to act. Vikas Patil, the group’s head, highlighted how this foot-dragging—despite a consensus decision from the Maharashtra state assembly—undermines widespread community feelings.
Tensions peaked politically this week when Bhiwandi MP Mhatre spotlighted the controversy in Parliament, capping it off with a huge motorcade procession the previous Sunday. This isn’t mere posturing; it’s a battle to uphold the dignity of the bhumiputras, he asserted. Mistaking their forbearance for frailty would prove costly, he added—they refuse to let any aircraft depart without D B Patil’s name etched on the terminal.
Panvel MLA Prashant Thakur of the BJP aimed to calm the crowd, pledging that representatives would head to Delhi shortly for talks. Yet he couldn’t resist a jab, noting wryly that some rally organizers had once floated Bal Thackeray as the namesake during the Uddhav Thackeray-headed MVA administration. That suggestion was scrapped when the initial Mahayuti coalition took office and swiftly endorsed D B Patil in its debut cabinet session via a formal resolution.
To us, this transcends policy—it’s deeply personal, reflected Bhushan Patil, a prominent voice among PAP leaders. D B Patil wasn’t merely a figurehead; he forged the framework for our entitlements. Bestowing his name on the airport stands as the bare minimum tribute to the hardships we’ve endured.