Poll spanner in Namma Metro works

Poll spanner in Namma Metro works
By S Praveen Dhaneshkar, DH News Service, Bangalore:
The critical land acquisition and compensation process for the "Namma Metro" project has been delayed again, and this time due to a new obstacle: elections.


KIADB Special Land Acquisition Officer Vijay Kumar and a host of other officials are now busy elsewhere, having been designated to oversee the electoral process.

Sources in the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) told Deccan Herald that the officer in-charge has been on deputation and posted as a returning officer (Nelamangala) for two weeks now.

It’s not just this. A key BMRCL official, M S Nagendra of the KAS cadre, who had held the post of Executive Director (Administration) for close to two years, has now sought voluntary retirement and is all set to join a private firm.

“Since officials are busy overseeing the electoral process, there has been a sudden delay in handing over compensation to land losers. We should be able to resume work pertaining to compensations after May 10 when the first phase of polling gets over. The whole process has slowed down. We should be able to resume work after elections” said the source.

But this is not the first delay encountered by BMRCL in completing the private land acquisition process. Almost six months after the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) began taking private properties into its possession for the Namma Metro project in Reach 1 (between Byappanahalli on Old Madras Road and Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium), only a handful of property owners have surrendered their properties. Of the total 118 properties notified on Reach 1, valuation of 95 has been completed and 20 property owners have accepted the compensation cheques from KIADB.

The first compensation package cheque was handed over on December 31 last year.

The delay notwithstanding, BMRCL has completed the process of property valuation for Reach 2 and hopes to acquire all 550 properties by July/August 2008.