Kochi bypass: NH Action Council seeks clarity on land acquisition

Angamaly-Kundannur NH 544 Bypass land acquisition under scrutiny by Action Council for fair compensation and transparency.

Seeking clarity on the land acquisition and allied aspects for the 44 km-long Angamaly-Kundannur NH 544 Bypass, the Angamaly-Kundannur NH Bypass Action Council has demanded that the acquisition of 290 hectares of land be carried out under the provisions of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act – 2013. Its provisions, with better compensation must also be made applicable to traders, including those using rented buildings.

The demand comes in the wake of concerns that the land would be acquired under provisions of the NH Act of 1956, despite Supreme Court directions to rely on LARR Act of 2013 for land acquisition and rehabilitation. The six-lane greenfield NH titled Kochi Bypass is expected to begin from Nettoor on the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 bypass and end at Karayamparambu located north of Angamaly on the NH 544.

The action council further demanded that care must be taken to award compensation in sync with the market rate and the rate mentioned in recently-registered title deeds. The market rate must be determined judiciously, since there are apparent differences in the fair value of land in each place and the market rate, said Saji Kudiyirippil, its general convenor.

Balance land if any too must be acquired, in case it turns out to be of little use to the land owner. If need be, permission must be granted to construct buildings in balance land and exemption granted regarding the buffer-zone distance.

In addition, rehabilitation must be given as per the land acquisition Act of 2013. As regards buildings that would be dismantled to make way for the proposed NH, their compensation must be decided irrespective of their age. Normal compensation must be given for BTR land, while agricultural produce must be compensated for on the basis of documents issued by Central and State agencies. The farmers must also be permitted to cut their farm produce/trees on their own. Above all, stamp duty and registration fee must be avoided for plots purchased by land owners to build house and resettle. The agencies concerned must consider these demands before proceeding with land acquisition, Mr ***Saji said.

Land owners along the alignment have also been seeking acquisition of land on the lines adopted for NH 66 development and Kochi Metro, and clarity on the expected time span to complete the acquisition process.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had issued the preliminary 3(A) notification over a month ago to commence the ground-level land acquisition process for the semi-access-controlled highway corridor that has been mooted to decongest the Aroor-Edappally NH 66 Bypass and the Edappally-Angamaly NH 544 stretch.