CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The land acquisition process for the Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase 2 project is close to completion, with 82% of the required land already acquired.
According to CMRL officials, out of the 112.72 hectares of land that the 118.9-km project needs, 93 hectares have been acquired. There are, however, some challenges in acquiring the remaining land in certain pockets, such as Kaliamman Koil Street, Vadapalani, and Arcot Road.
The officials have stated that they are working to resolve these issues as soon as possible, as the contractors are keen to begin the project. Specific measures have been taken to simplify the land acquisition process for the ₹61,843 crore project. For instance, the stations have been reduced in size from 220 metres in Phase 1 to just 150 metres in Phase 2, and each station will have only two entry and exit points instead of four.
The officials stated that measures were taken to make land acquisition more accessible and faster for the Phase 2 project, which is being executed at the cost of ₹61,843 crore. To that end, the size of stations was significantly reduced from 220 metres in Phase 1 to 150 metres in Phase 2, and the number of entry and exit points decreased from four to two.
“We strived to avoid using private land as much as possible and only resorted to it when it was unavoidable,” an official said.
Chennai Metro Rail aims to run the Poonamallee-Power House stretch within three years.
