THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The long-pending Outer Ring Road (ORR) project in Thiruvananthapuram connecting Vizhinjam to Navaikulam via Thekkada is facing major financial and administrative impasse as the cost of land acquisition has doubled from Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 3,800 crore. According to official sources, this estimate is valid till August and if the government fails to initiate the procedures to disburse the funds to the land owners by then, the cost will further escalate.
As per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, beneficiaries are entitled to 12 per cent annual interest on delayed payments, calculated from the date of land possession to the date of actual compensation. Initially, the estimate for land acquisition stood at around Rs 1,800 crore with the state and Centre chipping in 50 per cent, each.
The project, which requires 314 hectares of land across 24 villages, has been stuck for over three years with the land owners clamouring for compensation. The recent estimates show that the cost of land acquisition has escalated more than 100 per cent, severely impacting the project.
According to official sources, the land acquisition procedures took off around three years ago and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has given the revised estimates for the land acquisition as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act recently. “The estimates will continue to multiply if the project doesn’t take off immediately,” said an official source.
Last month, after the meeting with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, PWD Minister P A Mohammad Riyas had announced that the Centre would give the final approval for the ORR project by July end. An official of the district administration said that after the meeting a team from the Centre came down to assess the situation.
“After that we didn’t get any follow-up updates. Both the state and the Centre will have to allocate more funds for the land acquisition as the interest rates keep adding on to the present estimates,” said the official.
Around 314 hectares of land spread across 24 villages are being acquired to facilitate the project. 3D notifications for 11 villages have been issued already and the notifications for the rest of the villages are yet to come out.
The action council formed by the land owners are planning to meet the NHAI authorities on Monday. “Both the state and Centre have been telling blatant lies and cheating us for the past three years. We have decided to launch a hunger strike in front of the NHAI office and the decision will be taken after the meeting on Monday. We don’t know why they acquired the land before getting the project approval. Even today, the project is pending with the Centre. Around 6,000 land owners are suffering because of this impasse,” said Chandramohan Nair, convenor of the action council.
Chance of further escalation
The cost of land acquisition has doubled from H1,800 crore to H3,800 crore. Official sources said this estimate is valid till August and if the government fails to initiate the procedures to disburse the funds to the land owners by then, the cost will further escalate