Government of Andhra Pradesh realized the potential of Vijawada to be developed into a major international airport. Feasibility studies found that if the runway, which is 7,500 feet now, is expanded, large aircrafts can land. This will increase the operation of national and international long-distance flights from the airport. Accordingly, State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in 2007 for the expansion of Vijawada Airport at Gannavaram. For the initial expansion about 300 acres of land was proposed to be acquired [1]. |
Government of Andhra Pradesh realized the potential of Vijawada to be developed into a major international airport. This will expand the surface and increase the operation of national and international long-distance flights from the airport and.
Description:
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Vijayawada Airport (VGA) in Gannavaram, AP, India |
| Country: | India |
| State or province: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Location of conflict: | Village Gannavaram |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Infrastructure and Built Environment |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Ports and airport projects Land acquisition conflicts |
| Specific commodities: | Land |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | Vijayawada Airport is located at the Gannavaram mandal of Andhra Pradesh. The airport is located about 18 Kms, North East from Vijayawada City. The airport has all modern facilities to operate national and international flights [1]. The existing runway measures about 8,000 feet. With the proposed expansion, the runway will be 10,000 feet for accommodating larger aircraft. Airport Authority of India allocated about Rs.170 crore for the project [3]. |
| Project area: | 201 |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | 27,951,331.88 |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Start of the conflict: | 2007 |
| Relevant government actors: | Government of Andhra Pradesh, Airport Authority of India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | ‘Committee Against the Expansion of the Airport’ |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements |
| Forms of mobilization: | Blockades Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches Strikes Occupation of buildings/public spaces |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Potential: Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Noise pollution, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Displacement, Land dispossession Potential: Loss of livelihood, Loss of landscape/sense of place |
Outcome
| Project Status | Planned (decision to go ahead eg EIA undertaken, etc) |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Compensation Strengthening of participation |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | Farmers whose lands are located near Gannavaram airport are not against the land acquisition process. They demand that government should declare the details of compensation and rehabilitation packages. Also, people are not informed about the valuation government is going to fix for the land. Their major demand is the government announces compensation details before acquiring lands [5]. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | According to the protesting organization, the airport authorities had already acquired 80 acres of land in 1989. The compensation of the acquired land at that time has not been paid. Beside this the previously acquired land has not been properly utilized. Instead of developing the land, authority is now planning for further acquisition. They are in strong opposition of such additional land acquisition. Beside this the new acquisition of land will close the connectivity to the villages. This will restrict the movements of residents living nearby villages [4]. The market value of proposed acquisition has not been fixed. The protestors raised the question about the valuation of their property, the authorities did not have complete answer but they assure that that market value would be fixed at an appropriate time according to guidelines of the ‘new Land Acquisition Act’. The farmers also under the dilemma that if the land is acquired under old land acquisition how the compensation will be paid under new land acquisition act. They demand that the government should announce the time frame for the compensation and rehabilitation packages and demand all process will be made clear and transparent to the public [5]. |
Sources & Materials
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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Meta information
| Contributor: | Swapan Kumar Patra |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 1564 |
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