3 min readMohaliMar 3, 2026 12:15 AM IST
Under a proposed plan, nearly 2,490 acres of land across eight villages will be acquired for the expansion of Aerotropolis. The township is planned around the airport area, on both sides of the Zirakpur-Banur Road, and is expected to include around 8,600 residential plots. However, with no visible development in the already announced project, questions are being raised about when the original Aerotropolis will materialise on the ground.
According to official information, the Principal Secretary of the Housing Department, Vikas Garg, has issued a notification for conducting a social impact assessment (SIA) for acquiring land in eight villages for the extension project.
As per the notification, approximately 2,490 acres of land in villages Khijargarh, Tangori, Kurda, Isakhan, Sekhanmajra, Manakpur Kallar, Azizpur and Karala — falling under Mohali, Banur and Dera Bassi tehsils — will be acquired under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The notification clearly states that the project relates to planned development and falls under Section 2(1)(e) of the Act. Therefore, consent of the Gram Sabha or landowners will not be required under Section 2(2). The SIA process will commence from the date of notification and is to be completed within six months. The key outcomes will include a social impact assessment report and a social impact management plan, which will be disclosed as per Section 6 of the Act.
Allottees await development in ABCD blocks
While the extension moves forward, development in the original project remains stalled. Allottees in Blocks A, B, C and D have only been issued letters of intent (LOIs), but no development work has started so far.
Meanwhile, the process to acquire land in six additional blocks — E, F, G, H, I and J — is ongoing, and property registrations in these blocks have been suspended. Sources indicate that GMADA is currently focused solely on land acquisition, resulting in delays in development works even in blocks where LOIs were issued earlier.
In June 2024, the CM had directed GMADA to expedite the project. However, the introduction of the new land pooling policy by the Punjab government — and its withdrawal within three months of announcement — affected the acquisition process, leading to further delays.
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Village-wise land acquisition details:
As per the notification, the proposed acquisition includes:
Azizpur: 208 acres
Karala: 187 acres
Basi Isakhan: 46 acres
Kurda: 552 acres
Tangori: 140 acres
Khijargarh: 31 acres
Sekhanmajra: 1,092 acres
Manakpur Kallar: 230 acres
Total: Approximately 2,490 acres
Not a single brick laid
Even as not a single brick has been laid in several blocks of the original Aerotropolis project, preparations for its expansion have already begun. While the core project has yet to visibly take shape on the ground, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has initiated the process for the Aerotropolis Extension.
