Coimbatore: More than 100 people , who had given their lands on lease for the city airport, petitioned the district administration on Monday requesting to acquire the lands as soon as possible. They have not received the lease payments from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) since 2015, they said Forty landholders had marched to the airport two days ago demanding lease payment. “About 100 families had leased about 60.8acres22.54acres at Singanallur and 38.4acres at Irugurto the central government in 1939. The lands were handed over to AAI without our knowledge or permission. We are supposed to be paid lease amount once a year. But, we have not received the payments from 2015,” said Jagannathan of Singanallur. “The AAI says it is not allowed to pay lease for the land, which is all set to be acquired. But the acquisition process has been dragging on for four years,” he said.AAI officials told them that as 18 landholders had approached the court regarding the issue, the matter has become sub judice, another landowner said. “But why should the rest of us suffer?”Jagannathan said that the state and central governments have not honoured a tri-party agreement signed in August 22, 2016. “It was agreed that the cost of the leased land would be revised every three years and 5% of the land cost would be fixed as the lease. The lease payment would be made once a year. But they have not delivered anything.”Many of them are senior citizens depending on the lease amount, the landowners added.

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