CMRL Allocates Rs 154 Crore For Land Acquisition For Coimbatore Metro, Paving Way For Expansion

The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has earmarked Rs 154 crore in the first phase for land acquisition for the Coimbatore metro, on a 1.1 km stretch along Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam Road, reported The Times of India.

The land plan survey will soon be conducted by the city corporation in collaboration with officials of CMRL. Revenue department officials will be in charge of the acquisition process.

Coimbatore MP Ganapathy P Rajkumar and corporation commissioner Sivaguru Prabakaran recently met the CMRL authorities in Chennai for discussion of the two-corridor metro project.

The first will connect Ukkadam bus stand to Neelambur integrated station through the airport over the distance of 20.4 km. The second will cover a distance of 14.4 km from the railway junction to Valiyampalayam Pirivu.

One of the biggest bottlenecks for the project is the narrow length from Textool rail over-bridge to Surya Hospital, which often gets severely congested.

"The stretch from Textool rail over-bridge to Surya Hospital on the Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam Road at Ganapathy is too narrow and often witnesses huge traffic jams," said the corporation commissioner.

With the overlapping requirement of the National Highways project and the expansion of the metro rail, CMRL sanctioned Rs 154 crore to acquire a 24-metre-wide strip of land from Textool flyover to Surya Hospital Junction.

"The revenue department will acquire the land, mostly along the eastern side of the road. After the land acquisition work, the National Highways authorities will start the road widening work for a stretch of 3.1 km from the Textool rail over-bridge", added Prabakaran.

The CMRL has also sanctioned Rs 2 crore for a detailed land plan survey, which will assess the land required for the two corridors and address issues related to underground utilities.

"Our team will carry out a detailed study about the land to be acquired on the two corridors and what steps need to be taken to shift the underground cables and water pipelines. We will prepare a detailed report and submit it to the CMRL," the commissioner noted.

Meanwhile, the civic body has agreed to provide rental space for CMRL to set up its office in Coimbatore. "Once the CMRL appoints staff for the Coimbatore office, the work will speed up," Prabakaran stated, emphasising the project's momentum.