High Speed Rail will cut thru Golf Course

High Speed Rail will cut thru Golf Course
Senthalir S |TNN

Bangalore: With the process for land notification for the High Speed Rail Link (HSRL) picking up pace, a portion of the Golf Course has been marked to pave way for the project. The Golf Course had earlier lost some of its land for road widening.
HSRL promises to provide swift connectivity between the heart of the city and Bengaluru International Airport.
Once the land notification is approved, at least 1,676 square metres of Golf Course land will be taken away for the HSRL project. Besides, a portion of Visvesvaraya Towers (242 sq m), Jayamahal Palace, All India Radio (828 sq m) and IAF land in Hebbal has also been identified for acquisition.
“A total of 199 properties have been identified for acquisition. The file has been sent to the government for approval. Once we get the nod, the land will be notified,” a senior official with the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) said.
KIADB has asked the government to deposit a sum of Rs 104 crore, another official said. “Once the government deposits the amount, we will notify the land to be acquired. It has been two weeks since KIADB moved the file.”
V Madhu, principal secretary, infrastructure department, said: “The total land acquired will be 65.96 hectares. The land to be acquired will be notified within a month.” The controversy over the IAF land has been resolved.
Five companies have been shortlisted to execute the work: Pioneer Infratech Pvt Ltd and Siemens Project Ventures; Lanco Infratech Ltd and OHL Concesiones SL; L&T Transco Ltd; Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and XDR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co Ltd; and ITD-ITD Cem-SOMA Enterprises joint venture.
THE ROUTE
Cubbon Road, Raj Bhavan Road, Chowdaiah Road, Windsor Manor bridge, Bellary Road, Mehkri Circle, Hebbal flyover (where elevated HSRL crosses over on the right side)
JOURNEY TIME
25 minutes from Cubbon Road; 18 minutes from Hebbal flyover
ESTIMATED COST Rs 6,900 crore