SC okays NGEF land acquisition

SC okays NGEF land acquisition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRC) can start work on its Byappanahalli terminal station. The Supreme Court has cleared the decks for acquisition of NGEF land on Old Madras Road.
Metro Rail needs around 33 acres belonging to NGEF, BMRC managing director V Madhu said. The BMRC has planned a station-cum-workshop and a traffic integration system along with BMTC and KSRTC on 53.10 acres of land.
The work on Byappanahalli terminal station was put on the backburner from August 2007 due to the legal hurdles in acquiring the NGEF land.
“Of the total requirement of 53.10 acres of land near Byappanahalli, around 20 acres of land was purchased from the National Power Corporation Limited. Metro needs lands from other departments like HAL, IOC, police and railways. However, these departments have agreed in principle to part with their land for Metro,’’ he explained.
BMRC along with BMTC and KSRTC will establish an traffic integration system to provide better transportation access to other parts of the city from Byappanahalli. Majority of KSRTC buses will halt at Byappanahalli.
From there, commuters can either take the Metro Rail or BMTC buses, which act as feeder service.
The BMRC will now acquire around 33 acres of land under KIADB land acquisition norms for public purposes. The BMRC has already submitted a letter to the government and to the high court to allow it to acquire the land. Following the Supreme Court verdict, a fresh request will be sent to the government. The government has to take permission from the high court to acquire the NGEF land before permitting BMRC begin work.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com