Airport highway: New notification, new twist

Airport highway: New notification, new twist
DH News Service, Bangalore:
"The idea behind rechristening the expressway as State Highway - though both are essentially the same - was to make the acquisition easier and circumvent cases that are on against the project," Hemchandra, a resident of Kylasanahalli, a village that's covered in the road alignment said.


There’s no end in sight yet to the tussle between promoters of the State Highway connecting Bangalore to the upcoming international airport in Devanahalli and people who are set to lose their property to the road.

Property owners have alleged that a latest land acquisition notification issued by the Public Works Department has altered survey numbers proposed for acquisition, and also called it an attempt to circumvent the ongoing court cases against the project.

After proclaiming the expressway as a State Highway through a notification dated July 28, the Government carried a corrigendum calling the road “State Highway (Special) 1” or “connecting road between Bangalore and Devanahalli”. According to property owners, the corrigendum and the latest notification, dated August 20, are aimed at bolstering the State’s position during land acquisition, citing the road’s “special” status.

“The land proposed to be notified is more than what it was in the March notification. The idea behind rechristening the expressway as State Highway — though both are essentially the same — was to make the acquisition easier and circumvent cases that are on against the project,” Hemchandra, a resident of Kylasanahalli, a village that’s covered in the road alignment, said on Saturday.

Continuing opposition

The alignment of the 21.2-km road has undergone many changes, leading to staunch opposition from people who own properties in the villages covered under the project. The latest notification has a 60-day period for people to object to the acquisition.

While property owners alleged that PWD and Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited didn’t publish the notification in newspapers and they were even denied copies of the same, sources in PWD said the notification was displayed at the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s office.

“There are glaring changes in the new notification. Some survey numbers in the old notification have been replaced by fresh ones... BMRDA, which was originally the project’s nodal agency, is washing its hands off the road now,” said Ramanujan, a resident of Challakere.

While senior officials were not available for comment, sources in PWD said there were “minor” differences in the acquisition pattern between the March and August notifications.