Metro Rail: DLPC Formed to Speed up Land Acquisition

Metro Rail: DLPC Formed to Speed up Land Acquisition

KAKKANAD:  In a bid to accelerate the land acquisition procedures for Kochi Metro, the district administration has set up the  District-level Purchase Committee (DLPC) for purchasing the base area of High Tension Electricity Towers (HTET) installed by the KSEB in 21 areas along the metro rail stretch.

The district administration has identified 21 HTET areas for the direct purchasing. Of these 21 sites, three are ‘puramboke’ land and the remaining 18 sites are maintained by KSEB on a remuneration basis to the public.

Commenting on the status of land purchasing, Deputy Collector (Kochi Metro) Sobhana said that the DLPC for acquiring the land has been started. She said that the two DLPCs already conducted in this regard helped finalize one case and solve another.

“The department is working hard to finish the land purchasing process in a time-bound manner.

We have already spent `8.5 crore for purchasing plots under the direct purchase scheme,” she said. 17 HTETs come along the Aluva- Kalamassery stretch and the remaining towers come in the Petta area. The DMRC has started the realignment of roads along the Kochi Metro rail. They will be either removed or raised for the metro rail to pass through.

According to officials, the height of five towers will be increased along the Aluva-Vyttila stretch, and in six other points.  “The height of the 66kV and 110kV towers are around 20 feet, we need to elevate them to around 50 feet,” said an official.