HYDERABAD: With High Court dismissing the writ petitions of traders against the Metro Rail alignment between Greenlands Junction and Road No 5 of Jubilee Hills (4.6 km), decks have been cleared to acquire 377 properties on Greenlands, Ameerpet, Madhuranagar, Sri Krishnanagar and Yousufguda stretches on Corridor III from Nagole to Shilparamam.
Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) managing director NVS Reddy told Express that the judgment of the High Court gave a major boost to the Metro Rail project. He said that construction of the remaining 154 pillars of the total 171 pillars can now be taken up on this stretch of 4.6 km with acquisition of affected properties, removal of traffic bottlenecks, etc.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will start acquiring these properties under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 coming into force from January 1, 2014.
HMR and GHMC have to shell out double the compensation to land owners towards acquisition of land for public private partnership (PPP) projects. With the new Land Acquisition Act in place, HMR has to face the major brunt in terms of giving of double solatium to the land owners. Metro Rail works between Greenlands Junction and Road No 5 of Jubilee Hills were earlier stayed by the High Court in March 2012 when the alignment of corridor-III, powers of the state government to execute the project and the legality of executing the project under AP Tramways Act were challenged by the traders of Greenlands, Ameerpet, Madhuranagar, Yousufguda and Sri Krishnanagar.
GHMC officials said that the new legislation will guide all land acquisitions of Central and state governments, bringing in stricter norms and increasing land owners’ compensation significantly. The new Act replaces the earlier legislation