Row over compensation for land may hit MRTS work

Chennai: The state government may be trying to speed up merger of Beach-Velachery MRTS with Chennai metro rail to offer smoother intermodal connectivity, but a fresh row over compensation of land may delay linking of Velachery to St Thomas Mount. This will come in the way of making St Thomas Mount a multimodal hub where metro rail, suburban train and MRTS converge.
The elevated line from Velachery to Adambakkam has been built but the last section of 500m to link it to St Thomas Mount is stuck because land acquisition is yet to be completed. The state government issued compensation to a few residents and took over some land a few months ago soon after court issued an order. Railways will need 4,530sqm land for the work.
However, it has run into rough weather again as a few residents say that the district administration has not made it clear under what price compensation will be determined though a notice issued by the tahsildar says that compensation will be given as per the Land Acquisition Act 2013 as directed by Madras high court.
Around 75 families in Jeevan Nagar and Thillai Ganga Nagar need to receive proper compensation. But only a few families have received it and residents claim that there is a lot of ambiguity in the process.
Parvathipuram Residents Welfare Association president S Ekambaram said, "We were willing to provide the land for the project but we have to be compensated adequately. The high court has said that we should be given twice the market price but the authorities seem to be sending wrong notices and delaying the fund. They are not telling us clearly how much money will be given and how it is going to be calculated." B Vishwanathan, a resident, said, "The authorities did not seek our consent before issuing the notice. And we have never received any promise about the price except the notice." He also added, "They have managed to acquire some land but they are yet to conduct any negotiation with us. An alternative route for the completion of the project would have cost just 100 crores."
In its order in August 2015, Madras HC said compensation to owners of acquired land at Thillai Ganga Nagar in Nanganallur should be calculated in terms of the new land acquisition law 2013. A senior railway official said, "It will take at least a year for the work to begin after the entire land is handed over by the state government. The land acquisition process needs to be speeded up so that the metro rail line to St Thomas Mount can be completed on time."