By hook or by legal powers

The Delhi government seems to be in no mood to let a road project related to Commonwealth Games 2010 being delayed by non-availability of land, reports Atul Mathur.

The Delhi government seems to be in no mood to let a road project related to Commonwealth Games 2010 being delayed by non-availability of land.

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To pressurise the UP government to release a chunk of land it owns along the Yamuna for a road-widening project, the Delhi government has decided to exercise legal powers.

Senior Delhi government officials said they would now invoke emergency provisions under the Land Acquisition Act to acquire land along the Yamuna for its two major road projects. The emergency provisions can be initiated if the land is required for a government project.

“We have sent the file to the Lieutenant Governor for his approval. Once he signs it, we can acquire the land by initiating the special provision,” a Delhi government official said.

“The UP government will be paid compensation according to prevailing circle rates,” he added.

Delhi’s public works department (PWD) needs 25.5-acre land for corridor improvement of the UP Link Road and another 40 acres for the construction of the East-West corridor.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) also needs a piece of land for its Yamuna Bank-Noida line.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has already put its project to construct additional clover-leaves on Akshardham flyover, an important Games project, on hold as it failed to get a 10-acre piece of land for the project.

The land, said senior Delhi government officials, is owned by UP’s irrigation department. The UP government wants the land use of its 350-acre land near Sarita Vihar changed from freight corridor to commercial and institutional in return. Though the DDA has initiated the process to change the land use, it is taking time.

The PWD has proposed adding one lane each on either side of the 3.4-km-long UP Link Road. It would construct one single carriageway and one double carriageway flyovers on three traffic intersections to make straight movement signal-free. Construction of a small bridge on Chilla Regulator is another part of this Rs 334-crore project.