Metro rail: Land acquisition notification soon

Metro rail: Land acquisition notification soon
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The multi-crore Bangalore Metro Rail project is on a roll. The State Government is vetting the notification for acquisition of land for the mass rapid transit project and will issue it, according to one official, ‘‘any moment now’’.

Acquisition of land being the first step in putting the project on track, marks the beginning of the ground work for this prestigious project. ‘‘Alignment for the project has been frozen recently. Once the notification is issued the land acquisition process will start,’’ a Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL) officer told this website’s newspaper.

BMRTL, which is a nodal agency for implementation of the project does not foresee any problems in getting land.

The agency has already identified both private and government land required for the project. ‘‘The project will not disturb any of heritage sites in the city,’’ the officer said.

Most of the paper work for the project has already been completed.

The Planning Commission has cleared it and now it is waiting for Centre’s nod, which it is expected to get soon.

Partly underground, partly elevated and partly surface, the metro rail will have two corridors. The 23-km north-south corridor will connect Peenya to JP Nagar and the 17-km East-West corridor will link West of Chord Road to Byappanhalli.

Meanwhile, in a bankers’ meet held at Mumbai last week, the financial aspect of the project was thoroughly discussed. ‘‘Around 50 representatives of 30 banks, which are willing to lend money, attended the meeting,’’ another officer said.

For the Rs. 4,989-crore project, loan funding will be to the tune of Rs.2,338 crore. While the Centre is required to contribute Rs. 1,079 crore, the State Government’s portion will be Rs. 1,572 crore.

Experts suggest that the Metro Rail is the only answer to chaotic traffic on city roads and a study done by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) too had stated it will reduce number of accidents by around 30 percent and cut environmental pollution to a great extent.