THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The long-pending Sreekaryam flyover project, which is expected to ease traffic burden at one of the busiest corridors in the capital, has hit another roadblock with landowners expressing dissatisfaction with the compensation offered by the DLFC (District-level fair compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement committee). Recently, the DLFC had held the first round of discussions to negotiate the land value.
However, the landowners were dissatisfied with the price quoted by the committee. According to them, the compensation offered by the authorities is very less compared to the actual market value of the land. A section of the landowners is planning to approach the court demanding better compensation and rehabilitation package.
The committee has fixed the land value at `18 lakh per cent and according to official sources of the land acquisition wing under the district administration, those surrendering the land by Thursday, which is also the last day to surrender land willingly, will get 17% more than the quoted amount. The plan is to acquire around 1.34 hectares from 168 private parties to facilitate the construction.
Rajan Mathews Malieckal, one of the landowners, said 95 per cent of the landowners are not satisfied with the compensation. “As per the alignment, I will have to surrender around 8 cents. They have quoted `21.06 lakh per cent for those surrendering the land immediately. This is my ancestral property and I will lose my house also. I run a lodge which is attached to the property. I cannot agree with the price quoted by them. Once they acquire the land, I will have to move my family to a rented home and construct a new house on the remaining land,” he said. Rajan added the value of the building wasn’t assessed yet. When he raised the issue, the authorities informed him PWD is in charge of assessing the structures.
“I can’t surrender the land unless they give me a proper rehabilitation package,” said Rajan. He said residents are expecting more discussions with the authorities after next week. “We will go to court if they don’t offer a better rehabilitation package,” he added.
Authorities to move ahead
The district administration is planning to complete land acquisition procedures as early as possible. “We have offered 17% more price for landowners who are ready to surrender the land immediately. The rest of the land would be acquired as per the land acquisition rules on the land value fixed by us. The next step would be to cross-check the original documents of the property,” said an official of the district administration. A senior official associated with the flyover project said steps would be taken to tender the project only after the land acquisition procedures are completed.
The flyover
From Chavadimukku to Kallampally Junction
C135.37 cr estimated cost
C35 crore released by KIIFB for land acquisition
535m long
4 lanes with a width of 7.5m
15m total width
5.5m wide service roads on both sides