The acquisition of 1.5 acres of land from Apollo Tyres (PTL Enterprises) in Kalamassery for Kochi Metro has run into rough weather with the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and the district administration trading charges over the quantum of compensation.
The land is crucial for a metro station there and an adjacent parking area. In December 2013, the District Level Purchase Committee had fixed a compensation of Rs. 18.70 lakh per cent and gave its nod for a total package of Rs. 32 crore. A KMRL representative who participated in the process did not object to the decision, though the metro agency has been saying that the land was given to the private firm in the 1960s for a nominal amount.
Sources in the metro agency said they received a few petitions from people stating that the firm did not deserve to be compensated as per market rate since the land was assigned to the firm for a nominal amount by the government for industrial use. “They also sent copies of the petition to the State government, who in turn asked us and the Finance Department to verify the details of ownership with due diligence. The department withheld payment of compensation, pending clarity on ownership. During this time, Apollo approached the court demanding proper compensation for the land. We never directed any one not to pay the compensation. We only sought clarity on ownership of the land, to prevent complaints that metro’s land-acquisition funds were not handled with due diligence. The onus now is on the Finance and Revenue departments to ascertain the ownership details and pay the compensation,” they said.
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Highly-placed sources in the District Administration said KMRL wrote to the government to withhold payment of compensation within days of the cheque being handed over to Apollo. KMRL could have directly purchased the land if they wanted to pay a nominal rate, without involving us in the process, they said. All formalities were adhered to for taking over the land as per market rate, with KMRL’s concurrence and as per the directions of the State government.
KMRL allotted metro’s land acquisition funds for compensation, with the concurrence of higher ups in the agency, they said.