Surmounting obstacles for Kochi Metro’s land acquisition and speeding up paper work to get the Central government’s approval for its Tripunithura extension will be among the key points that will be discussed at the Kochi Metro Rail Limited’s (KMRL) director board meeting scheduled to be held here on May 2.
The tardy pace of land acquisition, despite the government fixing the market rate as compensation for 40 hectares of land required for the 25-km-long viaduct and 21 metro stations en route, had invited much flak. Procedures for acquiring land for metro village at Muttom and commercial development of land at Kakkanad, too are not yet over.
The most critical is inordinate delay in acquiring land for widening the narrow Vyttila-Pettah Road into a four-lane road. Narrow portions of Banerjee Road, MG Road, Jos Junction-South Railway Station Road and SA Road too have not been acquired, despite traffic hold-ups in the vicinity of metro work sites.
ADVERTISEMENT
KMRL sources said that land for a few metro stations and at places where the viaduct takes a deviation are yet to be acquired. Apart from demands by some land owners for more compensation, this has to do with Revenue officials being kept busy with poll arrangements.
The Centre’s approval for extending the metro up to Tripunithura as an extension of phase one is critical to commence work in the 2-km-long Pettah-Tripunithura SN Junction stretch. The State Cabinet had accorded its nod for the proposal, KMRL sources said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The extension, which includes construction of a station at Alliance Junction and a terminal station at SN Junction, is expected to cost Rs 323 crore.