Overview

• Navi Mumbai International Airport is slated to begin operations in November after construction concludes this year.
• The committee insists the facility be named after Loknete D B Patil, the late MP who led farmers’ and landowners’ protests against CIDCO land acquisitions decades ago.
• A resolution to honour Patil through the airport’s name was passed by both houses of the Maharashtra legislature but remains pending with the Centre.
• Committee chairman Dashrath Patil warned of an “explosion of discontent” and formally requested a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to settle the issue.
• Beyond naming rights, the group is also pressing for preferential hiring of project-affected landowners from Thane, Raigad, Palghar and Mumbai districts in airport jobs.