Owners difficult to convince for acquisition of properties in city development projects

Hyderabad: A high-level committee comprising senior officials was constituted last month to finalise the modalities and call for tenders for the Metro Rail projects.

However, the process got stuck later when officials realised that acquiring 590 private properties in prime locations for the purpose would be a herculean task. In spite of the government offering market rate compensation to acquire properties for the Metro Rail project, the acquisition of over 300 private properties is still pending even after five years.

Officials estimated that at Mind Space junction in Cyberabad alone, it needs to acquire properties worth Rs 200 crore. In Cyber Towers junction, 9 acre has to be acquired for which the compensation amount is yet to be estimated.

Another 50 acres of government lands and buildings is needed on the remaining routes. Official sources said that a field-level survey done by municipal officials had found that 14 properties would have to be demolished near KBR Park Junction, 15 properties at Cancer Hospital Junction, 15 properties at Jubilee Hills Checkpost Junction and 153 properties in LB Nagar Junction among others.

“Convincing owners to hand over their properties in prime locations, which are worth crores of rupees, is a difficult task. Even if they agree, payment of such a huge compensation at one go will be a big problem for the government. These issues need to be addressed first before calling tenders for construction,” said an official.