Metro Rail Land acquisition by month-end

Land acquisition by month-end
Deccan Herald

The preliminary notification for the acquisition of land along the Bangalore Metro Rail project route is likely to be issued by this month end. The Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited has appealed to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board to accelerate the process of land acquisition.

Land acquisition is among the prominent issues over which the Public Investment Board has sought clarifications, BMRTL sources noted on Monday and said that it would help if the State government issues at least the preliminary notification by the next PIB meeting. The said meeting is slated for June 24.

Official sources in KIADB confirmed that they are in receipt of the letter from BMRTL and said that it may not be possible to issue the notification before June 24, but it can be definitely expected by this month end.

The preliminary notification ‘implies the willingness of the government to acquire the land’ and enables the general public to file objections, if any, before the special land acquisition commissioner, officials explained.

A total of 662 properties (including buildings and vacant land) is billed for acquisition along the two corridors of the 35 km Phase I route of Metro Rail. A major portion of them are 59 acres at Byappanahalli (Opposite NGEF) for the East-West Corridor depot and 100 acres near Peenya for the North-South Corridor depot.

BMRTL has pegged the cost of these property acquisitions at Rs 600 crore. A DD for Rs 20 crore was also reportedly despatched to the KIADB by BMRTL on Monday.

Control

An amendment to the Mysore Tramways Act, 1906 is in the offing to facilitate State control of the Bangalore Metro Project.