Govt okays private land acquisition for Metro

Govt okays private land acquisition for Metro
Deccan Herald

According to Industry Department sources, Finance Minister P G R Sindhia cleared the file on Thursday, submitted in July last year, to pave the way for acquisition of 27 acres of private land through the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).


After a six-month delay, the State Government has finally given its nod to begin the acquisition of private land for the Bangalore Metro project.

According to Industry Department sources, Finance Minister P G R Sindhia cleared the file on Thursday, submitted in July last year, to pave the way for acquisition of 27 acres of private land through the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).

The KIADB has earmarked 621 private properties for the North-South and East-West corridors of the Bangalore Metro. A preliminary notification will be issued to the affected parties on January 16, under Section 28 (1) of the KIAD Act. A gazetted announcement is yet to be made.

The affected parties will be given a month’s time to file their objections, and a personal hearing will be held for two weeks in mid-February. Then a final notification will be published under Section 28 (3/1) of the KIAD Act. The KIADB is taking the ‘consent awardee’ route where the compensation amount will be decided based on certain parameters, and one-on-one discussions will be held with every affected party to mutually agree on a fixed amount.

A committee will shortly be formed to aid and guide through the land acquisition process. According to sources, this effort will not only ensure that the affected parties get true value for their property, but also minimise litigation. The entire process will be completed in March, the sources added.

Out of the 621 affected families, 120 families belong to slum pockets. As many as 114 families from Basaveshwara slum and six families from a slum on Old Madras Road will be rehabilitated in modern apartment blocks that will be constructed on a two-acre land next to Leprosy Hospital on Magadi Road.

Government land

The acquisition process for the Central and State Government land is already under way for the Bangalore Metro. The State Government has released Rs 95 crore towards acquisition of 25.5 acres of Nuclear Power Corporation land.

The agreement to acquire four acres of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited land under the Central Government is already over, and the formalities are expected to be completed by February-end.

Nearly one acre of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

land will be acquired through normal process. Acquisition of the Central Silk Board, BSNL and Railways land is still on.

Meanwhile, nine departments under the Karnataka Government, including the 34-acre land of NGEF, will contribute nearly 68 acres of land towards the Metro rail project.

Where’s the Metro?

Even as sources believe that the land acquisition clearance is the “most positive” development in the recent months, it may not mean the Metro is back on track.

The bhoomi puja for the project was supposed to be performed on Sankranti (January 14, Saturday), but again it has been postponed indefinitely because the Cabinet is yet to approve the date for the same.

Even the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation sources had no clue when the project work would actually begin.

GREEN SIGNAL

27 acres of private land to be acquired

621 private properties marked

Compensation to be worked out

Land belonging to Nuclear Corp, HAL, BHEL, Silk Board, NFEF and railways to be acquired

Land acquisition

Department No. of Area in

/Agency properties acres

Government of India

NPCIL 1 25.47

Railways 3 3.38

HAL 1 3.97

BSNL 2 0.31

BHEL 1 0.09

Central Silk Board 1 0.03

Government of Karnataka

Education 6 3.16

Hospitals 6 6.12

BWSSB 4 0.35

Police 5 1.37

Horticulture 2 5.22

KSRTC 2 7.51

NGEF 2 33.92

KPTCL 1 1.24

BMP 18 10.4

Defence land 5 101.75

Private land 621 27