Land acquisition for Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase 2 project almost completed

93 hectares of land acquired out of 112.72 hectares required, say officials; size of the stations significantly pruned under Phase 2 to minimises land acquisition

Land acquisition for Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase 2 project is nearing completion with nearly 82% of the land needed for the project acquired so far.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL), the 118.9-km project needs 112.72 hectares of land. “Of this, we have acquired nearly 93 hectares of land. In the remaining portion, including some pockets like Kaliamman Koil Street, Vadapalani and Arcot Road, we need to acquire land. In some areas, we are facing some challenges. But we are trying to finish it soon since the contractors want to take over the project site for construction,” an official said.

For Phase 2 project, being executed at a cost of ₹61,843 crore, steps were taken to make land acquisition easy and quick, the officials said. For instance, the size of the stations has been significantly pruned when compared to Phase 1 project. While the size of stations measured 220 metres in Phase 1, this was scaled down to just 150 metres in Phase 2. Similarly, as against four entry and exit points in stations in Phase 1, each station will have only two entry and exit points in Phase 2.

“We took a lot of effort while planning to ensure that we don’t take over private land. Only in cases where it is inevitable, we resort to using private land,” an official said.

At present, Chennai Metro Rail is stepping up efforts to first operate the stretch between Poonamallee and Power House within three years.