CHENNAI:Two decades after the state government gave an administrative sanction to acquisition of land for the phase-II of the outer ring road project, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is on the verge of completing the project, but legal hurdles in land acquisition still persist.
While the first phase of 29.2 km of the project from Vandalur to Nemilichery has been completed and opened for traffic, the second phase of 33.10 km from Nemilichery to Minjur is facing hurdles in the final stages.
It is learnt that 99 per cent of the project has been completed and officials are trying to finish the project by December, 2018. “There is a stay on taking over a small piece of land from land owner. The rest of work is all completed,” said a CMDA official. It is learnt that the land in question lies in Vijayanallur village and measures have been taken to acquire the remaining part of the land. “A petition has been filed by one G Rangan against the acquisition of land and the High Court has ordered interim stay on possession,” the official said.
It is learnt that land has been acquired in Vellanur village and Minjur, which had been stalling the 62-km project worth `2,156 crore and it is learnt that lands were acquired by CMDA through its own funds with an assurance from the government that the land acquisition cost would be recovered on the build, operate and transfer annuity basis.
While only one per cent work is pending, questions arise over the validity of Outer Ring Road division as the state government has sought a report from the CMDA on how it is paying salaries to officials deputed on projects lying dormant for many years due to litigations and delays.
But the CMDA sources clarified that the division is functioning with skeleton staff to attend land acquisition cases. “After taking possession, people approach various courts for higher compensation so we are maintaining a thin division with one or two staff,” an official said.