Snoozers, Losers: Namma Metro Sees Threefold Rise In The Cost Of Land Acquisition Due To Delay

Increasing land prices over the years have pushed the estimated project cost from Rs 26,405 crore in 2012 to Rs 32,000 crore for the Phase II of Namma metro in Bengaluru.

In 2012, the BMRCL estimation was the total of Rs 2,000 crore to acquire properties for the project. The amount has gone up to Rs 6,293 crore now.

“The estimation was done seven years ago. When the engineers prepare a detailed design plan after the project report is ready, they have to adhere to various specifications set by the Railways. One can attribute this as a factor, but it is inevitable,” said Ajay Seth, managing director of BMRCL as reported by The Hindu.

There are several factors behind the delay. Sometimes BMRCL took a lot of time in finalising an alignment while other times approved plans had to be modified. On Reach 5, The proposal for an elevated line from Ragigudda Road to Silk Board was changed into a road-cum-metro flyover on account of the Outer Ring Road metro project (part of Phase-II A) apart from the intersection metro station at the Silk Board Junction, which required acquisition of more properties.

The land cannot be notified at one go for any project as the properties identified were subject to the final approval, said BMRCL sources.

“The metro project is probably one of the major projects in the city where thousands of properties need to be acquired and it is a tedious process as well. Only after the alignment is approved will we know the exact extent of land required, and the government will come out with a notification. Guidance value or the transaction value of the properties are considered while giving compensation. If there is a delay in issuing notification, it will have an impact on land costs as guidance value increases every year.”