The proposed second airport for Mumbai, at Navi Mumbai, will not only impact environment but also reach the saturation point in 25 years, a new study by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has pointed out, even as environment minister Jairam Ramesh met civil aviation minister Praful Patel to resolve their differences over the proposal.

The existing Chattrapatti Shivaji International Airport has not been able to match the growth in the aviation sector and will be fully saturated by 2015, notes the report. Thus, the financial capital of the country sorely needs a new airport. But the proposed site at Panvel in Navi Mumbai, 35 km from the city, is not the answer, according to the ORF report.

“The biggest single problem is the lack of land on that 1,140 hectare site (at Panvel)… By the time the airport at Panvel is saturated, there may be no vacant land available for (a) third airport. That would be a disaster for Mumbai as well as India,” says the study report authored by Hormuz P Mama, a leading aerospace analyst.

Given the limitations of the area, an airport at Panvel, 35 km from Mumbai, will saturate in 25 years after the start of operations, it says.

“At 1,140 hectares land, Panvel would be just able to carry 50 million passengers a year,” it says.

The report also questioned the motive for the airport when most international airports have ultimate capacities of 100 million passengers a year.

Then, of course, there is the question of the environmental impact of the project.

“Much of the site is swampy (and) not good for construction of the airport, while another portion is made up of hillocks that need to be flattened. Two small rivers will have to be diverted in order to make the land available for construction, and to prevent flooding during the monsoons,” Ansgar Sickert, managing director, Fraport India, the Indian arm of the Frankfurt-based group of companies in the international airport business, was quoted as saying in the report.

The two rivers are the Ulwe, which flows southward and the Kalundre on the east.

The ORF report suggested two alternative sites for the second airport: Mandwa-Rewas and Nevali. Mandwa-Rewas is considered a better choice but it has its own drawbacks. For example, it could be a costly proposition and may double the budget.

“The 1,700 acre Nevali site, about 50 km from Mumbai, is not adequate for an airport. But it has no environmental problems except the Malangad Hills,” the report mentioned.

The report suggested that government should take a view of other international airports before taking a decision on second airport at Panvel.

The choice of Panvel has been supported by Patel, but Ramesh is squarely against it. During his Mumbai visit in August Ramesh had said the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai would have serious environmental implications, including the flooding of Panvel town. He also noted that once the airport was approved around 400 acres of the mangrove cover was likely to be destroyed.

However, there were signs of a possible thaw between the two central ministers as Ramesh went to Patel's residence in New Delhi Thursday evening for a first one-on-one meeting since the controversy erupted. Earlier in the day, Patel had also told parliament that he would work with Ramesh to take the matter forward.