Indore Development Authority reluctant to allot land for light metro rail

After allotting hundreds of acres to IT giants at throwaway prices, the Indore Development Authority (IDA) is unwilling to provide land to the MP government for a proposed light metro rail project.

The Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company Limited (MPMRCL) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the state government that is constructing light metro rail projects in Indore and Bhopal has written the IDA to allot 40 acres of land in the super corridor for construction of a terminus of its metro rail project in the city, a source in the IDA said.

At current market prices the land rates in the super corridor are around Rs 5.5 to Rs 6 crore per acre.

So, ideally for 40 acres, the IDA should get at least Rs 200 to Rs 225 crore from the company, an IDA official said.

"The IDA is financially very weak. We cannot give away land for the metro project at throwaway prices like we had to do in case of TCS and Infosys," the official, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

Earlier in 2012, on the government’s directives, the IDA had to give away 100 acres land each to TCS and Infosys at a paltry sum of Rs 40 crore, while the land was actually priced at about Rs 675 crore or higher.

"The state government is yet to pay us the promised sum," he added.

After conducting a detailed survey in Indore, the MPMRCL has identified four plots for the construction of metro depots on the super corridor, scheme no. 78, Depalpur and Annapurna areas for which it would require at least 40 acres of land for each station.

IDA chairman Shankar Lalwani said, "We will discuss the terms of trade with the company and the state government before allocating the land."

According to a preliminary report prepared by the company, 75 metro stations will come up in Indore, and the 95 km metro line will be laid on six corridors.