BENGALURU: It has been many times that our Namma Metro has missed many deadlines in recent years and one of the reasons for Namma Metro projects missing deadlines is delays in acquiring land both, private and sites owned by government agencies. In an attempt to ensure that deadlines are met in Phase II, for which work is currently underway, the Chief Secretary has started fixing a target for the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), the agency that is acquiring land for metro work. The deadline for completion of Phase II is 2023.
According to a source from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the government has also set up a high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary to come out with directions to clear hurdles. This will ensure better coordination among government agencies and the transfer of government land. The BMRCL has identified 3.20 lakh square metres of government land and 9.33 lakh square metres of private land for Phase II, which has six reaches.
“The Corporation has identified 279 properties that will have to make way for Namma Metro’s line from K.R. Puram to Trumpet Interchange near the airport. Of these, 235 properties are owned by non-government entities. The BMRCL pays double the guidance value and 12% per annum as compensation for acquiring private land from the date of issuing the final notification. The guidance value gets revised almost every year.
Any delay in issuing the final notification results in spending more money as compensation. Acquiring land in time helps speedy completion of the project and saves money,” said an official from BMRCL.
As of May 2019, it has acquired 1.04 lakh square metres of government land and 8.21 lakh square metres of private land. However, it is yet to receive a major chunk of land from government agencies. For instance, it requires 45 acres from the Forest Department to build the Kadugodi depot and 18 acres from Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the Challaghatta depot. Negotiations have been going on for more than two years.
So, the government has ordered that every month, the status of land acquired for the metro project is reviewed. The Cabinet has already given approval for the high-powered committee to take decisions on transferring land owned by government agencies to the BMRCL. For the acquisition of private land, the KIADB has been asked to review the target every month.
