Karnataka - Bangalore   

‘Right to property’ cannot be invoked: Metro Rail

BANGALORE: Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) on Monday submitted before the Karnataka High Court that the “Right to Property” is no longer a fundamental right and that traders and residents of CMH Road in Indiranagar could not invoke this right to seek realignment of the metro rail.

The court was dealing with petitions from traders and residents of Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) Road seeking a stay on the metro project. The petitioners contended that the metro would have many more users if its alignment was

changed from CMH to Old Madras Road.

Appearing for the BMRC, senior counsel and former Advocate-General R.N. Narasimha Murthy said the petitioners could not seek realignment merely because part of their property was being acquired for the project. He said the fundamental rights of the traders for trading or having licences or running their business were not taken away. He also said that the alignment had been proposed after obtaining opinion of the experts and conducting scientific studies. Senior counsel and former chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women, Pramila Nesargi, questioned the rationale in having the metro rail link running from CMH Road. She said the objections of the traders and residents of CMH Road were not considered by the authorities before the metro project commenced.

She said the CMH Road is narrow and that this would entail acquisition of properties on both sides of the road. The Old Madras Road is 180 feet in breadth and just 1,000 metres away from CMH Road. There would be no problem if the alignment is changed, she argued.

On its part, the State filed a counter defending the alignment. It said that it is not practicable at this stage to change the alignment from the CMH Road to Old Madras Road.

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