The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Encroachments being cleared for road overbridge construction

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 03, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Encroachments being cleared for road overbridge construction

K. Manikandan

Southern Railway seeks Rs. 46 crore for handing over land to Highways Department

Photo: A.Muralitharan

MAKING WAY: Encroachments on the Velachery Main Road being removed on Saturday . —

TAMBARAM: The State Highways Department began removing encroachments on its land on the Velachery Main Road to begin work there as part of the ongoing construction of the road overbridge to replace the railway level-crossing in Tambaram.

There were no protests from the 100-odd merchants and shopowners as notices were issued well in advance. While they took away the removable structures like sheds and beams, workers of the Highways Department used an earth-mover to bring down the structures. Many have been running their shops for more than 30 years. Some of them “purchased” land for the shops while others have been paying “rent” to those claiming ownership.

Engineers of the department said they planned to remove all encroachments on its land on Velachery Main Road from the level crossing for a distance of 800 metres till the Judicial Magistrate Court in East Tambaram and the first phase commenced on Saturday.

Southern Railway demand

Top officials of the department are also faced with a huge demand of Rs. 46 crore made by Southern Railway to part with its land for the bridge. The bridge was taken up as part of the gauge conversion scheme of 1999 and is meant to replace the railway level crossing (LC No. 30) at the intersection of Grand Southern Trunk Road, Velachery Main Road and Mudichur Road.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 38.50 crore of which Rs. 8 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition, while the rest would be used for civil works. It is scheduled for completion in March 2009. Southern Railway started its portion of the work of laying pillars even before the foundation stone laying function was held in May. For constructing ramps and service lanes on Velachery Main Road and GST Road, the Highways Department requires 14,268 square metres (about 1.54 lakh square feet) of land belonging to the Southern Railway.

The sum of Rs. 46 crore was based on the guideline value of Rs. 3,400 per square foot in Tambaram, top officials said. The sum was huge and the issue could be sorted out only when there is a high-level meeting of officials comprising Southern Railway and the Highways Department.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu