'Build It Over Our Dead Bodies': Raigad Farmers Vow To Fight Third Mumbai Project To The End

Published 10 June 2026 · local

'Build It Over Our Dead Bodies': Raigad Farmers Vow To Fight Third Mumbai Project To The End Published By, Last Updated: June 10, 2026, 14:47

'Build It Over Our Dead Bodies': Raigad Farmers Vow To Fight Third Mumbai Project To The End Published By, Last Updated: June 10, 2026, 14:47 IST Farmers from 124 villages met at Chirner Jungle Satyagraha memorial, invoking Raigad's 1930 land struggle as they vowed to resist MMRDA's Third Mumbai project by every means. Farmers at Chirner raised slogans: "Our land, our rights, our future" and "The land belongs to us, not to anyone's father." Thousands of farmers from across Raigad district gathered at the historic Chirner Jungle Satyagraha Hutatma Smarak to collectively pledge they would not surrender “an inch of land" for the proposed Karnala-Sai-Chirner (KSC) New Town — also called Third Mumbai — vowing to resist the ₹4,000-crore MMRDA project through legal, democratic and public means. The convention, organised by the MMRDA KSC Navnagar Virodhi Samiti, drew hundreds of farmers and residents from 124 villages across Uran, Panvel and Pen. The venue was deliberately chosen to evoke the legacy of the 1930 Chirner Jungle Satyagraha, with organisers framing the movement as a continuation of Raigad’s historic struggle for land rights.

Slogans such as “Our land, our rights, our future" and “The land belongs to us, not to anyone’s father" rang through the gathering. What Is The Third Mumbai Project? Detail Facts Project name Karnala-Sai-Chirner (KSC) New Town / Third Mumbai Managed by MMRDA Estimated cost ₹4,000 crore Area covered ~323 sq km Talukas affected Uran, Panvel, Pen, Karjat, Alibag Villages covered 198 revenue villages State objective Decongest Mumbai; create economic hub linked to Atal Setu, Navi Mumbai International Airport and JNPA What Triggered The Latest Convention? The gathering came days after Maharashtra’s urban development department approved the appointment of Singapore-based Surbana Jurong Infrastructure Pte Ltd as general consultant to prepare the master plan — a move farmers read as the state accelerating the project despite mounting opposition. Rupesh Patil, general secretary of the Virodhi Samiti, alleged that nearly 25,000 written objections filed after the project’s notification of March 4, 2024, had been ignored before the state approved its land policy, the Hindustan Times reported. What Are Farmers Demanding? Farmer groups rejected the state’s compensation framework — which offers cash, TDR, FSI or a 22.5% developed land-return model introduced via a Government Resolution on March 16 — and instead demanded implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.