Land makes NH project standstill - Real Estate India

??|?? September 16, 2012 ?? 08:36am ??|Contributed by manoja

NH-34 Contractor winds up work, says not an acre acquired in 2 yrs.

The road widening project for the National Highway 34, from Barasat in south to Dalkhola in north Bengal has come to a standstill due to non-availability of land.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) took up the project to widen the 422-kilometre stretch in 2010 and it was estimated to cost Rs 4,227 crore. However, the construction company, which was awarded the contract for building the road, has almost winded up its operation citing non-availabilitry of land. According to the contractor, not even an acre of land has been acquired till date. To execute the project, the firm says, 900 hectares of land has to be acquired.

For NHAI projects, the state government acts as the facilitator for acquiring the land. The state issues the notification for land acquisition and NHAI pays the compensation. For the Barasat to Behrampore stretch, the NHAI needs 300 hectares for widening the NH-34. However, till date the NHAI has no land in its possession. For the Beharmpore to Dalkhola stretch, the NHAI has to acquire 670 hectares and it has managed to possess a meagre 0.18 hectares.

?The contractors build the roads on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. So, the contractors suffer huge losses if the work gets delayed due to the non-availability of land. There are several legal issues involved. As of now, the contractor has withdrawn from three projects and it will withdraw from two other projects soon as nothing is happening in the state due to the land acquisition issues,? said a senior NHAI official, who did not wish to be named.

Significantly, the Trinamool Congress-led government is at loggerhead with the NHAI for the maintenance of national highways in the state.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/land-makes-nh-project-standstill/1003246/0

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