MMRDA projects hit land roadblock

Acquiring nearly 5,000 acres needed for 140-km Virar-Alibaug road corridor and mega innovation park will be a tedious task, say officials

MMRDA projects hit land roadblock

Acquiring nearly 5,000 acres needed for 140-km Virar-Alibaug road corridor and mega innovation park will be a tedious task, say officials

TWO mega projects, hailed by the MMRDA as crucial for the development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), have run into a land acquisition roadblock.

The Virar-Alibaug multi-modal corridor and the innovation park are the projects which stand to be affected

The development authority, which is keen on constructing the 140-km Virar-Alibaug multi-modal road corridor and an innovation park, feels acquiring the more than 5,000 acres of land needed for the projects will be an uphill and time consuming task.

MMRDA Commissioner Rahul Asthana said, "The Virar-Alibaug multi-modal corridor and the innovation park are two major projects which could help in developing the MMR, but one of the important issues that these projects are facing currently is land acquisition, solving which is going to be a time consuming process."

The MMRDA had appointed Louis Berger Group Inc as the techno-economic and financial feasibility consultant for the Rs 10,000-crore multi-modal road corridor in August, The public-private partnership will play out in two phases a 90-km Phase I from Virar to Panvel and a 50-km Phase II from Panvel to Alibaug.

The corridor will start from Virar on NH-18 and end at Alibaug on NH-17 going via Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivli and Panvel. It is expected to cut down travel time between the two destinations to one hour.

The innovation park, also based on a public-private partnership model, will be spread over 5,000 acres, but its proposed location has been kept under wraps. The project will facilitate research, education and industry and will employ about 25,000 scientists.

MMRDA had asked for expressions of interest for the project in November 2009. Eleven bidders had showed interest and three companies were shortlisted. The authority will contribute 26 per cent of the equity and share revenues proportionate to that.

It will also facilitate clearances and town planning compliances.

"I feel that acquiring land for these projects will not be easy as 5,000 acres of land is needed for the innovation park alone. We have faced hurdles in the past with the Shahi and Kadu dams and the eastern freeway and getting people to part with agricultural land is never easy," said an MMRDA official.