Land acquisition process for metro’s Kakkanad extension yet to be fixed

With the completed of the survey to acquire land for widening the Palarivattom-Collectorate Junction corridor into a 22-metre-wide road, a decision is awaited on whether to apply the Centre’s new land acquisition norms or to opt for negotiated purchase to pave the way for Kochi metro’s Kakkanad extension.

Many plots of land required for the metro’s first phase were acquired through negotiated purchase due to the State government’s delay in framing rules based on the Central Act. “A speedy decision by the State government on how to acquire land for the extension will provide impetus to the land acquisition process for widening the road. Acquisition of land to construct entry and exit for 10 metro stations in the route can follow,” metro sources said.

Traffic bottleneck

The 11-km-long extension through the Collectorate Junction will take the metro to the doorstep of Infopark. This will also see widening of the narrow junction, which is a perennial bottleneck on the Seaport-Airport Road, by six metres on each side, enabling wide free-left turns and one more lane on each side.

Sources associated with land acquisition said a tentative deadline of six months has been fixed to complete the process. Most of the plots to be acquired for the Kakkanad extension are commercial in nature or owned by the government. Less than a dozen houses will be affected. A rehabilitation package too will have to be worked out.

Land acquisition at Palarivattom and Chembumukku junctions will be minimal since there is requisite width. Most of the avenue trees on the Palarivattom-Palarivattom Bypass Junction stretch would have to be axed, the sources said. They added that the Palarivattom-Collectorate Junction stretch was encroached upon by commercial establishments and even by places of worship. They would be evicted without paying compensation.

Many plots for first phase were acquired through negotiated purchase due to delay on the part of the State government