Live
- Govt plans to establish offshore Johns Hopkins University Campus in India
- Goa Aces clinch Indian Racing League title
- Study finds how hormone therapy can reshape the skeleton
- High-street fashion players looking at India for manufacturing: Report
- Shreyas Iyer to lead Mumbai as Prithvi Shaw returns for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
- 'Failed to resolve crisis': NPP withdraws support from BJP govt in Manipur
- Chennai: Actress Kasturi Remanded in Custody Until 29th of This Month
- Aaqib Javed likely to become Pakistan's new white-ball head coach
- BJP panel to draft poll charge sheet against AAP govt in Delhi
- Allu Arjun Thanks Fans in Patna, Teases 'Pushpa 2' Release
Land acquisition, a fresh hassle for Metro Rail
It seems the much-awaited Hyderabad Metro Rail has hard days ahead before meeting its 2017 deadline as it has to realign the route in many places.
With the government’s direction to realign the Metro Rail route in three locations, it is feared that the much-awaited project may delay further
Hyderabad: It seems the much-awaited Hyderabad Metro Rail has hard days ahead before meeting its 2017 deadline as it has to realign the route in many places.
With the Telangana government's decision on the realignment in three locations, the prospects of fresh land acquisition has further bogged down the concessionaire, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH), as the process is going to be a knotty affair.
Till date, 1,660 properties have been demolished and 49.7 kms right of way is available. While L&TMRH is going ahead with the works especially in Corridor 3 (Nagole to Hitec City), the change in realignment in three locations in front of the Assembly building, Sultan Bazaar and in the Old City would mean that a fresh survey would have to be undertaken and additional properties need to be acquired.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been entrusted with the task of acquiring properties. Special Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition) K Shankara Chary said, “Property acquisition is going on at brisk pace.” In Corridor-1 between Miyapur and L B Nagar, out of 168 properties, 44 properties have been acquired and handed over to HMR. Another 124 properties remain to be acquired out of which 28 cases are in the court for different reasons.
In Corridor 2- between JBS and Falaknuma, 371 properties are to be acquired. The number may go up or reduce based on the change in the route and in Corridor-3, between Nagole and Shilparamam, 38 properties have been handed over to HMR. The initial cost for the project was Rs 12,132 crore and when it was last reviewed it stood at Rs 14,132 crore.
A senior official of HMR said it was too early to even hazard a guess as the change in route had to be taken into consideration and a fresh survey needed to be done and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) had to be prepared. The Telangana government has already earmarked Rs 500 crore for cost escalation and has agreed to bear the additional cost due to the realignment. The deadline for the 72 kms Hyderabad Metro Rail project is 2017 and HMR officials say that the delay could be only by a few months.
Compensation to property owners is another issue that may eat away a huge chunk of the funds. According to the new act -Tight to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act - that came into effect from January 1, 2014, 100 per cent solatium has to be paid in addition to the land value. In the old Act, it was 30 per cent. In addition, there is no income tax deduction in the new Act.
