Kochi: A high-level meeting convened by chief minister Oomen Chandy at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday has taken major decisions to expedite completion of the prestigious Kochi Metro Rail project. As per the decision taken at the meeting, Apollo Tyres has surrendered 1.53 acres of land for the project at Kalamassery.
District collector M.G Rajamanickam held discussions with representatives of the company as instructed by the chief minister. Acquisition of the land has been delayed due to confusion over acquiring government assigned land.
It was also decided to provide compensation for Aluva Municipality which surrendered land for the project. A rehabilitation package would be given to traders who have been evacuated. Compensation to the tenants and their rehabilitation issues would be finalized by Kochi Metro Rail Limited in consultation with the district administration. To expedite disbursal of compensation to landowners, the money would be directly distributed by KMRL through the district revenue office.
The government will provide Rs. 300 cr for the development of Vyttila – Pettah Road which will be carried out by the Public Works Department. It was decided that Rs 11 crore would be provided to Kochi Metro Rail Limited for traffic improvement works. KMRL would undertake improvement works of selected city roads.
The government will issue final orders regarding the takeover of St. Albert’s College ground at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and GCDA’s request for compensatory land near Marine Drive within a week. The Chief Minister will convene another meeting on August 28 to settle issues pertaining to Vyttila-Pettah Road widening and Phase-I of the Thammanam-Pulleppady Road development.
Meanwhile, E. Sreedharan, principal advisor, Delhi Metro Rail Corproation requested the government to pursue the Railway Ministry regarding the compensation of Rs 30 crore that is due from the Southern Railways for reconstructing the North rail over bridge. Ministers Aryadan Muhammad, Ebrahim Kunju, K. Babu, Manjalamkuzhi Ali, GCDA Chairman, N. Venugopal, KMRL MD Elias George, government officials and officials of KMRL and DMRC attended the meeting.
