As deadlines loom, land woes hit Metro

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has gone into overdrive to meet its 2016 deadline. Two new corridors and extension of five existing routes have to be completed within two years, a tall task with the addition of over 100km to the existing Metro network. What could, however, hamper DMRC's Phase III construction is the slow progress of land acquisition.
Government sources said there were bottlenecks in acquiring crucial pieces of land. "It is critical that these acquisitions take place soon, otherwise the deadline will be impacted," said a senior government official.
A look at the progress report speaks volumes. While civil work on the ground has started on both the corridors-Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar and Janakpuri (west) to Botanical Garden-there are some pockets where no work has started. These include spots in Punjabi Bagh, Ashram, Naraina, Trilokpuri, Dabri Mor, Okhla and Jasola as well as Munirka. "For instance, in Punjabi Bagh, the land where the main station will come up is yet to be acquired. In Munirka and Chirag Enclave, the land where the entry and exits to the station will be has not been acquired," said the official.
What could be a major hurdle for the Delhi Metro, however, is the delay in acquiring large tracts of land in Vinod Nagar and Okhla/Jasola, earmarked for depots. The Vinod Nagar land is crucial as without the depot, commissioning of the corridor will not be possible even if the rest of the corridor is completed on time, said sources. "In Okhla/Jasola area, the land belongs to the UP irrigation department. Talks have been going on for a long time but the land has not been acquired yet," the official added. The stabilizing yard for the Janakpuri (west)-Kalindi Kunj line will be built on the 42,000-sq m land. "Without the stabilizing yard, this end of the corridor will not become functional," said the government official.
In fact, land acquisition has been dogging the Phase III construction since the beginning. For instance, the alignment of the Janakpuri-Botanical Garden corridor has already been redesigned once around Dabri Mor because of land acquisition issues. However, pockets of land are still to be acquired here. In Trilokpuri, the Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar corridor faces a huge hurdle as the alignment here goes through a residential locality. "Residential flats belonging to DUSIB are located here, as well as some private land," said the official. In Sadar Bazaar as well as Palam, land belonging to the defence services has not been acquired.
Delhi Metro officials admit that though civil work may be on schedule, there is a lot more that needs to be done after land acquisition.
"Besides civil work, the project has other components like electrical, signalling, rolling stock etc. All this also requires time," said the official. That's not all. Three-four months will also be required to get the mandatory clearances and safety auditing by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).
"The progress of the project on the ground is fast and as per schedule. However, acquisition of these land pockets has become extremely critical for the project now to ensure that deadlines are met," said a DMRC official.