Objections chug in for land acquisition

Objections chug in for land acquisition
Deccan Herald

Acquisition procedures against 53 properties on CMH Road and 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, are still on hold, awaiting the recommendations of the Justice K Shivashankar Bhat expert committee.

Over 800 objections were filed with the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) against land acquisition of 568 properties for the Bangalore Metro Rail project as on Monday, the last day for filing objections against preliminary notification.

Acquisition procedures against 53 properties on CMH Road and 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, are still on hold, awaiting the recommendations of the Justice K Shivashankar Bhat expert committee.

Only 10 per cent of the property owners, mainly owners of small properties or vacant land, have accepted the acquisition proposal, revealed Special Land Acquisition Officer Ramachandra Murthy.

Twenty per cent of the objections have been filed by tenants, most of them tenants of small residential and commercial establishments on Maha Kavi Kuvempu (MKK) Road.

A majority of objections were related to loss of income or rent, or apprehensions about relocation. Most affected parties demanded that the compensation should be fixed based on existing market rate and not guidance values.

Few property owners, from areas like South End Circle, R V Road and MKK Road sought a realignment of the route. Additional time has been requested for in 10 cases.

“Most of the affected owners objected, saying they were dependent on the property rent for income, or they have no alternative place to stay. The number of objections was much higher than the number of properties, either because the commercial or residential property is owned by several co-owners, or there are several tenants on the same property. We had invited objections from all these affected parties,” said Mr Murthy.

The road ahead

The KIADB, along with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) and the Survey Department will conduct joint physical survey of every earmarked property in the presence of the owner, in the next one month. Following this, the final notification will be published under Section 28 (3/1) of the KIADB Act, in April. Any realignment or technical changes by BMRC will be incorporated before the final notification is published.

A statutory price negotiation committee, headed by Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban, and comprising representatives from KIADB, BMRC, Industries Department and Public Works Department, will then hold one-on-one meeting with every affected party to mutually agree on the compensation amount.

If there is no agreement, the committee will pass award in accordance with the law. However, the owners are allowed to go to the Civil Court seeking enhancement of compensation.

OPPOSITION UNLIMITED

* Residents of South End Circle want the metro station shifted to the Corporation Grounds near the circle. The proposed metro station is to be located opposite Bangalore Hospital on RV Road

* Residents of RV Road want the elevated stretch to run over Lalbagh Botanical Gardens and not the road

* Residents of MKK Road do not want a metro in their area

* Other affected property owners want the compensation amount on par with market rate, and not guidance value