The State government is pulling out all the stops to acquire land for 15 major infrastructure projects it intends to complete before 2019. The State will not only pay encroachers and project affected people (PAP) cash, but it will also acquire land owned by State-run bodies at 100% of the ready reckoner rate. In tribal areas, the government is for the first time considering giving individuals net present value (NPV) of the income loss for over 25 years (one generation) suffered due to mega projects.
Transfer of rights
For Metro projects in the rest of Maharashtra except Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed transfer of government land for the Metro projects at a token value of ₹1 per parcel of land. The new policies in these cases will be put before the State Cabinet for approval soon, officials said. “For acquisition of land on some Metro routes, we are even offering transfer of development rights, while offering a token amount of ₹1 for State land needed for the project,” said an official in the Chief Minister’s Office.
The new acquisition policies will have a major impact on projects meant especially for Mumbai, including the Metro rail works on the 2A, 2B, 3, 6 and 7 lines. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority needs to acquire 1,985 square metres of land from the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority, and the Revenue and the Public Health Departments for the Metro 2A project from Dahisar to D.N. Nagar (18.6 km).
Direct powers granted
For the Metro 2B (23.6 km from D.N. Nagar to Mandala), 2,01,675 sq m is needed from Animal Husbandry and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Officials said direct powers to grant State land permanently have already been granted to Collectors. “We have even considered giving other kinds of compensations for the land needed for Metro works in Mumbai,” said an official.
The other high-priority projects for which acquisition is in overdrive are the rail lines between Nerul-Belapur Seawood-Uran, Wardha-Nanded (via Yavatmal Pusad), Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli-Vaijanath, and the Wadsa Gadchiroli New Line rail line. Among the irrigation projects, priority is being given to works at Gosikhurd, Wang, and Bembla. Land acquisition is also on priority for the Mumbai-Nagpur Communication Expressway, Mumbai Metro 2A, 2B, 3, 6, 7, and the Nagpur and Pune Metro projects.
The new policies will be moved by the State Public Works Department and the Tribal Department to the State Cabinet soon. They will be applied initially on the 700-km long proposed Prosperity Corridor between Mumbai and Nagpur.
“We have decided to give compensation for the NPV of the income loss for an entire generation or 25 years. For the State land, apart from 100% of the ready reckoner, will be adding compensation for structures on this land,” said an official. A total of 7,298 hectares of private land needs to be acquired.
Acquisition troubles
Senior officials said the policies will help expedite acquisition where issues such as title issues and disputed properties have come up. The government is also facing acquisition complications where projects are being diverted for various reasons such as the Wadsa Gadchiroli one, which is being shifted to the Save the Tiger Corridor at Ghodazai.
In the Irrigation Department, direct purchase of land is being pushed for projects in Western Maharashtra. For the Wang project at Satara and Sangli, cash will be paid to 279 PAPs in lieu of land. “We have paid a single village (adyal) Rs. 74 crore to acquire 203 hectares for this project,” said an official.
