Land acquisition for Old City metro going on at a brisk pace: HAML

Hyderabad: The land acquisition process for metro rail in phase 2 in the Old City of Hyderabad has picked up pace. The authorities of Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML) have identified 1,100 affected properties along the nearly 7.5-kilometer long MGBS-Chandrayangutta route.

According to NVS Reddy, Managing Director, HAML, following Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's orders, the acquisition of properties has gained momentum and they have submitted requisition for 900 properties to the District Collector Anudeep Durishetty and the Collector has issued preliminary notifications for 800 properties in phases. NVS Reddy and Anudeep are jointly reviewing the land acquisition process continuously, an official release said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Collector has completed issuing the preliminary declaration for 400 properties out of the notified properties. He also said that the announcement of awards for compensation for 200 affected properties will be completed by the end of this month. Subsequently, the owners of the affected properties will be paid immediately, which will pave the way for the demolition work to begin.

The HAML official further said that the authorities are negotiating with the owners of the affected properties to ensure smooth construction works of the metro rail on the proposed stretch.

Additionally, GHMC has planned to widen roads from Darulshifa Junction to Shah Ali Banda Junction to 100 feet. Currently, these roads are less than 70 feet. During the process, most of the road facing properties will get affected.