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Bangalore got its Metro rail last week but Hyderabad is struggling with its plans, the problems including land acquisition, delays in getting government permission, lack of coordination among government agencies and protests from shopkeepers and businessmen who own properties along the proposed route.
Larsen and Toubro, which in July 2010 bagged the contract to build the Rs-12,132-crore, elevated Hyderabad Metro rail, complained to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy recently that the government has not yet handed over the 269 acres of land needed, though the company has already started fabrication work at the three main depots of Miyapur, Nagole and Falaknuma. The Metro will be 76.12 km long.
L&T officials have complained that local politicians have been taking advantage of the delay and pressuring company officials to give sub-contracts to their friends and supporters. The company has also taken exception to statements made against the Metro project by Labour Minister Danam Nagender and Minister for Marketing Mukesh Goud, both MLAs from seats in Hyderabad.
As per the project agreement with L&T, the 269 acres in question is to be acquired by the state government through a special purpose vehicle, Hyderabad Metro Rail, and give it to L&T. HMR in turn has entrusted the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation with the task of acquiring the land.
“The government has assured L&T that it will address land acquisition concerns by the end of this month. HMR is coordinating with GHMC to acquire land but there is some opposition in areas like Ameerpet and Sultan Bazaar,” says N V S Reddy, HMR managing director.
HMR officials say the protests against the project have been only from those who have encroached on the land or who do not have valid ownership documents. “HMR is paying adequate compensation, not only for structural and civil work that is being demolished but also for other losses like that of woodwork in the demolished structures. Many people are voluntarily approaching HMR and giving up their property and collecting compensation. We are facing problems only in some areas,” says N Murli Mohan, HMR’s public information officer.
Protesting owners of properties along the route say that it is only to construct the Metro that GHMC will demolish their structures. GHMC officials, however, say encroachments are likely to be demolished due more to road widening than to the Metro. “GHMC has been putting off road widening for several years. While the Metro is being constructed, we propose to widen the roads to 120 feet, which is required in a city like Hyderabad. There is some false propaganda going on, especially in areas where almost entire roads and pavements have been encroached on,” an official says.
Those opposing the Metro have sought to integrate the Telangana movement to their protests, forming a joint action committee and clinching the support of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and other pro-Telangana parties. “The Traders’ Joint Action Committee has added a new dimension to the opposition to the Metro rail,” an official admits. “It has become tricky to handle. TRS MLA K T Rama Rao participated in one of the rallies taken out in protest against the project.”
In Ameerpet and Sultan Bazaar, pamphlets opposing the project are distributed daily; stickers and placards are pasted outside all shops and establishments.
Landowners blame the lack of coordination and transparency among L&T, HMR and GHMC in land acquisition as the cause of much misunderstanding. K Balakrishna, owner of a commercial complex, Ameerpet, says GHMC has not yet identified the properties to be demolished either for road widening or to accommodate the pillars for the Metro rail. “The GHMC has released several lists of properties identified for demolition. Each list is different from the previous one. This has created suspicion among landowners that influential people are getting their properties exempted from demolition and so the GHMC has been revising the lists,” he says.
Principal secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, B Sam Bob says the process of land acquisition is time-consuming because of opposition from a large number of landowners. “It takes time but the process is on and going in the right direction,” he says.
Besides property owners in Sultan Bazar, Kacheguda and Chikkadpally, who are opposing the project along the Metro’s second corridor, owners in Ameerpet, Krishnanagar and Yousufguda have started opposing the third corridor.
Larsen and Toubro, which in July 2010 bagged the contract to build the Rs-12,132-crore, elevated Hyderabad Metro rail, complained to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy recently that the government has not yet handed over the 269 acres of land needed, though the company has already started fabrication work at the three main depots of Miyapur, Nagole and Falaknuma. The Metro will be 76.12 km long.
L&T officials have complained that local politicians have been taking advantage of the delay and pressuring company officials to give sub-contracts to their friends and supporters. The company has also taken exception to statements made against the Metro project by Labour Minister Danam Nagender and Minister for Marketing Mukesh Goud, both MLAs from seats in Hyderabad.
As per the project agreement with L&T, the 269 acres in question is to be acquired by the state government through a special purpose vehicle, Hyderabad Metro Rail, and give it to L&T. HMR in turn has entrusted the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation with the task of acquiring the land.
“The government has assured L&T that it will address land acquisition concerns by the end of this month. HMR is coordinating with GHMC to acquire land but there is some opposition in areas like Ameerpet and Sultan Bazaar,” says N V S Reddy, HMR managing director.
HMR officials say the protests against the project have been only from those who have encroached on the land or who do not have valid ownership documents. “HMR is paying adequate compensation, not only for structural and civil work that is being demolished but also for other losses like that of woodwork in the demolished structures. Many people are voluntarily approaching HMR and giving up their property and collecting compensation. We are facing problems only in some areas,” says N Murli Mohan, HMR’s public information officer.
Protesting owners of properties along the route say that it is only to construct the Metro that GHMC will demolish their structures. GHMC officials, however, say encroachments are likely to be demolished due more to road widening than to the Metro. “GHMC has been putting off road widening for several years. While the Metro is being constructed, we propose to widen the roads to 120 feet, which is required in a city like Hyderabad. There is some false propaganda going on, especially in areas where almost entire roads and pavements have been encroached on,” an official says.
Those opposing the Metro have sought to integrate the Telangana movement to their protests, forming a joint action committee and clinching the support of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and other pro-Telangana parties. “The Traders’ Joint Action Committee has added a new dimension to the opposition to the Metro rail,” an official admits. “It has become tricky to handle. TRS MLA K T Rama Rao participated in one of the rallies taken out in protest against the project.”
In Ameerpet and Sultan Bazaar, pamphlets opposing the project are distributed daily; stickers and placards are pasted outside all shops and establishments.
Landowners blame the lack of coordination and transparency among L&T, HMR and GHMC in land acquisition as the cause of much misunderstanding. K Balakrishna, owner of a commercial complex, Ameerpet, says GHMC has not yet identified the properties to be demolished either for road widening or to accommodate the pillars for the Metro rail. “The GHMC has released several lists of properties identified for demolition. Each list is different from the previous one. This has created suspicion among landowners that influential people are getting their properties exempted from demolition and so the GHMC has been revising the lists,” he says.
Principal secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, B Sam Bob says the process of land acquisition is time-consuming because of opposition from a large number of landowners. “It takes time but the process is on and going in the right direction,” he says.
Besides property owners in Sultan Bazar, Kacheguda and Chikkadpally, who are opposing the project along the Metro’s second corridor, owners in Ameerpet, Krishnanagar and Yousufguda have started opposing the third corridor.
