In Mumbai's Kalina Airport Colony, residents live in constant fear of being evicted from their houses, which they believed was their entitlement till their retirement under the Air India's housing allotment rules.
These airport colonies were developed as quarters for Air India staff after it's nationalisation in 1953. In 2018, when the government decided to privatise Air India, the housing entitlement of Air India workers across the nation became unclear.
In March 2022, approximately a month after Air India was handed over to Tata Sons, Gautam Adani-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) issued a notice to the airlines asking it to surrender land that is not core to its operations, including four staff colonies. These colonies were home to 1,600 families.
The agreement between the Union government and the Tata Group to privatise Air India included the distribution of the existing debts and assets between the Tata Group and an asset monetisation company named Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL). The AIAHL was created to monetise the assets held by Air India to cover the debt of Air India taken up by the government of India.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation decided to inform the Air India staff to vacate the housing quarters in 6 months time. In response to this notification, three unions of Air India workers gave a strike notice with labour commissioner alleging that the eviction notice amounted to withdrawing privileges. They further added that the negotiations between the union and the employer through dispute resolution ended without any decision. The workers wanted to go to the industrial court for resolution of the dispute but Air India authorities contended that housing is not an essential service condition, but just a welfare measure, according to the same Housing Allotment Rules.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the petition on resolution by an industrial court arguing: "If such a small number of employees continue to hold on to the accommodations, the AIAHL will not be able to monetise the land to reduce the burden of debt of AIL put on it… Petitions are devoid of merit and deserve to be dismissed." Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court ordered eviction of staffers from the Vasant Vihar airport colony in Delhi.
On 26 January 2022, Air India was privatised. From 26 May 2022, another round of notices were issued to the employees to vacate the quarters by 26 July 2022. Subsequently, the unions went to the Supreme Court in November 2023 where an interim relief against evictions was provided to the residents.
In July 2021, Adani Airports took over the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) entrusted with the Management of Mumbai's Airport. In January 2024, the officials of MIAL came with hundreds of policemen and demolition squad to demolish the unused staff quarters in the colony. But the exercise was called off hours later as residents protested against the demolition drive, claiming it to be against the Supreme Court order.
The residents further raised the issue of involvement of MIAL in the process when it was the AIAHL which was the owner of the land. However, the MIAL claimed that the government of Maharashtra and the AIAHL had handed over the land to MIAL and Adani Airport for the expansion of Mumbai Airport.
The 350 families of Airport colony now await the final judgement of Supreme Court in deciding the final interpretation of the Housing allotment rules.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Refusal to give up land for the project
Demand for rehabilitation
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Urban
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Supreme Court, Bombay High Court
Case Number
SLP 6320-6322/2023 (SC), WRIT PETITION (L) NO.34307 OF 2022 (HC)
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Maharashtra
Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.
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