Metro rail put on fast track

Metro rail put on fast track

Special Bench to clear cases delaying the project in three days' time

Srikanth Hunasavadi & Senthalir S. Bangalore

A special bench headed by Chief Justice PD Dinakaran will hear the two public interest litigations (PIL) against the Metro, which had almost brought the project to a standstill. Hearing for the PILs will begin on Wednesday and the petitions will be disposed of in three days.
The traders' welfare associations of CMH Road have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Metro scheme itself, claiming that it is not in accordance with the Constitution.
The petitioners hold that while the scheme should fall under the Indian Railway Act, it now falls under the Indian Tramways Act, 1902, giving them inadequate compensation. They have also demanded an alteration in the alignment of the project. Another PIL challenges the very Metro scheme itself.
If these two PILs are cleared, other cases will automatically be resolved. All other 21 cases relate to land acquisition and other matters which will be decided on the basis of these public interest litigations. Legal experts opine that the Metro issue involves constitutional objectives, so its resolution will take time.
The much-anticipated 'Namma Metro' project has been mired in legal tangles right from the start. Its implementation has been delayed on account of litigation around land acquisition and felling of trees; there are also disputes about the alignment of the Metro lines.
For sorting out land acquisition cases, a special bench has been constituted headed by Justice KL Manjunath.
This bench is expected to begin hearing cases shortly to clear legal hurdles, thus expediting the project.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited officials feel that though the Corporation has been blamed for the delay in implementation of the project, legal hurdles have been slowing down the work so far.