CHENNAI: A legal row over 431 square metres of land for MRTS Phase II extension project, from Velachery to St Thomas Mount, has been resolved and the project is likely to be completed by the end of next year. The land was crucial for building the final pillar for the project which has a potential capacity to transport 4,25,000 passengers a day. The 15-km Phase II alignment covers several significant landmarks of the city and has 18 stations. The Phase II extension of 5 km, when completed, will add three more stations linking Chennai Metro corridors with the MRTS and suburban rail network.
The stay over the 24.84 sq metres of land where the pillar was to come up, obtained by the owner of a plot adjacent to it, has been vacated, said an official from CMDA. Similarly, another row between two legal heirs over a property which was acquired for MRTS, has also been settled. The row was over 407 square metres, where there were problems in depositing the enhanced compensation and change in court jurisdiction. The issues have also been resolved.
The MRTS project is being implemented by the State and Union governments with a 66.67:33.33 funding ratio, which includes land acquisition. The State planned to take possession of the lands so as to allow MRTS and CMRL alignments in the stretch.
Initially, five judgments were passed in favour of landowners by asking the State to pay the market value as well as compensation as per the new Land Acquisition Act and even a Government Order was passed. The project got a new lease of life after the Supreme Court rejected the special leave petitions filed by land owners over compensation.
It was in February 2011, the government invoked the urgency clause of land acquisition following which the land owners approached the court for fair compensation under the new Land Acquisition Act. Meanwhile, Chernnai Metropolitan Development Authority, during a meeting, had decided to develop Velachery and seven other stations commercially. “The seven stations will be redeveloped to make them commercially viable,” said CMDA Member Secretary Anshul Mishra.
This would give a new lease of life to the stations which will be commercially developed along with Metro Rail and Southern Railway stations. A blueprint was prepared nearly 12 years ago to develop 1,90,000 square metres of commercial space in the nine stations but the plan was never implemented and the poorly-maintained stations were even in news for being dens of anti-social elements.
Sources revealed that the stations which were planned to be developed then were Mandaveli, Greenways Road, Kottur, Kasthurba Nagar, Indira Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Taramani-I, Taramani-II and Velachery. The State government in 2001-2006 had permitted CMDA to plan for commercially exploiting the air space over all the stations along MRTS Phase II.
Numbers Zone
MRTS Phase II extension project is proposed from Velachery to St Thomas Mount for a distance of
5 km at an estimated cost of Rs 495.74 cr
The revised administrative sanction cost of the project was Rs 732.89 cr & work started in April 2008
Till now, the State govt has released Rs 348.50 cr
The total extent of private land to be acquired for the project is 6,550 sq m
Case related to 500 m of land to be acquired is pending before Madras HC
Oct 4, 2018 HC constituted negotiation committee to work out compensation & submit report within two months
The revised compensation was worked out and negotiation committee offered
Rs 8,422 per square feet as compensation
Nov 26, the compensation was turned down by petitioners who demanded compensation based on 2014 guideline value
November 29, the second meeting was convened where in the maximum compensation was to be Rs 8,422 per square feet, including 225 per cent of market value
The petitioners rejected the committee’s proposal and sought Rs 12,375 per square feet
Madras High court passed its judgement on March 5, 2019 setting a timeline for special tahsildar to pass the award
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