Hyderabad: To expedite land acquisition for all ongoing and future infrastructure projects in the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to set up an independent land acquisition wing. It will comprise 20 National Academy of Construction (NAC) engineers, 10 surveyors, one retired deputy collector, one retired police official, and a survey and land records assistant among others, and will be headed by an additional commissioner.
GHMC commissioner M. Dana Kishore took this decision on Friday while reviewing the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) and the other infrastructure projects in the city.
He said that the proposal will be sent to the state government after it is approved by the standing committee.
The delay in land acquisition has temporarily halted multiple infrastructure projects like the SRDP, construction of the Balanagar Flyover, widening of channels, stormwater drains, and roads, the Uppal-Ghatkesar elevated corridor, and the long overdue skyway at Amberpet crossroads.
The corporation is yet to acquire 1,457 properties to take these projects forward. SRDP alone requires 587 properties and 1,58,360.40 square yards of land. Construction valued at `1,500 crore has temporarily been put on hold. Additionally, the civic body has decided to take up 200 road widening projects at the cost of `3,867 crore. These, too, will require land and property acquisition.
Officials claimed that since land acquisition has been a slow affair thus far, the corporation will be unable to complete the projects on time. In all, the delay in land acquisition has stunted the progress of projects worth about `35,000 crores.
