The impact of the proposed flyover at Sreekaryam on the land owners to be displaced is much higher than the land value, the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study carried out for the district administration has revealed.
This factor will influence the nature of compensation as residing and running business in the prime location are crucial for maintaining the financial status of the landowners, says the draft report of the SIA study by Centre for Advanced Research in Health and Human Behaviour (CARB).
As much as 85% of the 183 plots assessed in Cheruvakal, Ulloor, and Pangappara villages have buildings which are used either as residential premises or shops. The SIA study found that 85% of the land owners belong the APL category and another 10% are wealthy and that only 2% who come under the SC/ST category needs to be protected as per prevailing support system.
The study, mandated by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, has found that only six out of the 183 plots identified for acquisition belong to the government. As much as 76.27% of land ownership are in the name of the single owner, 21.46% joint ownership, and 3% fall in the trust, religious, and community.
The team led by Principal Investigator and Senior Research Consultant, CARB, S.K. Harikumar had used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for the field-based SIA study.
It was found that 47% of the land owners have been occupying the land for more than 20 years and 16% for less than 10 years. Of the 183 plots, 15 are open land, 121 used for commercial purpose, 20 for residential purpose, and 10 for residential and commercial purpose. “Compensating for the loss of business will be a challenge,” it said.
Of the 280 buildings in the land to be acquired, the report says 269 buildings are of permanent nature and demolishing them will cause significant financial loss to the owners.
Land demarcation
The physical demarcation of the land needed for the flyover has been completed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the turnkey consultant for the interim works of the Light Metro project. As much as 3.28 acres has to be acquired for the 480-m four-lane flyover. The government has given approval to the Revenue Department for negotiated purchase of land. A public hearing will be held later.
