Delayed Phase 2 Bengaluru Metro? Blame it on land acquisition issues | Bengaluru News - Times of India

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is yet to hand over land to contractors to commence work. BMRCL records show 3204 properties including 2868 private lands and 336 government ones are required for the Phase 2 project. However, 459 properties including 406 private and 53 government lands are yet to be handed over to its engineering section even though the work has commenced. According to BMRCL’s recent newsletter, the most critical of the acquisition issues faced by it are for NICE and forest lands. “The expert committee constituted by the government has inspected the area and is yet to give permission for cutting/ translocation of trees,” stated BMRCL. Last year, Larsen & Toubro won the bids for executing the underground sections from Vellara Junction to Shivajinagar (2.7km) and Shivajinagar-Pottery Town (2.8km). It procured four tunnel-boring machines from China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI), but the land acquisition issues on these sections are yet to be resolved. "The Board of Officers (BoO) has been constituted by Local Military Authority (LMA) will resolve the issues and they have forwarded it to the higher level" an official said. BMRCL has stated that it is yet to begin work on the stretch between Tannery Road and Pottery Town as the Wakf Board has not been able to convince its tenants to vacate its shops from the Eidgah-e-Jaded Land. “The issue is still pending as the tenants are resisting to handover the shops and are not allowing our technical team to carry out the soil test in the area”, it adds.