D B PATIL

About:

• The Navi Mumbai International Airport, said to be one of the largest greenfield airport projects in the world, is being built in Panvel. The airport, which is aimed at easing congestion at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, is proposed to be named after Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
• Dinkar Balu Patil, also known as D B Patil, was born in Jasai, a village in the Uran taluka of Raigad district. He was associated with the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP).
• Born into a farmer’s family, Patil did his LLB in 1951 and, a year later, won an election to the Kolaba district local board. He then represented Panvel in the Maharashtra Assembly for five terms between 1957 and 1980. He was also the MP from Kolaba in 1977 and 1984, as well as a member of the Legislative Council in 1992.

Farmers protests

• Patil led several protests for farmers and land owners in Panvel district when CIDCO acquired land in the area in the 1970s and 1980s.
• During a massive protest in 1984, four farmers were killed, which eventually forced the state government to bring in the 12.5 per cent developed land scheme for local farmers, which is now applicable across the state.
• Patil fought for the villagers of the Uran area when their land was acquired for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), and led the protest even while he was in an ambulance at the age of 86. Patil died in 2012 at the age of 87.