3 min readMumbaiJun 23, 2026 02:28 AM IST Almost a month after the MMRDA opened the floodgates of land acquisition for Third Mumbai, around 160 farmers have pledged their land of 118 hectares for the project. Largely consisting of small farmers with a few gunthas of land to their name, officials said these farmers have overwhelmingly chosen the option to get 22.5% of their land in developed areas as their means of compensation, a leap of faith in the city whose realisation is a good decade away. The challenge in front of the MMRDA, however, looms large. The area under Third Mumbai is 323.44 sq km large, of which 104 sqkm is developable, accounting for mangroves, forest, etc. Of this, 118 hectares – 1.18 sqkm – represents a little over a percent of the total area to be acquired. Even as consent is trickling in, opposition against the ambitious city planned in the influence area of the Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Atal Setu is growing. “The Koli-Agri community here depends on their land …