Shorter route to airport: Chandigarh admn to acquire 39 acres via negotiations
Chandigarh deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh confirmed that the land acquisition process had begun and was expected to be completed in the next six months
Aiming to fast-track the shorter route to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali, the Chandigarh administration has begun the process to acquire land through negotiations with land owners.
A senior UT officer said the land will be acquired by way of negotiations, as the process under the Right to Fair Compensation Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was quite long.
The officer said under the negotiation policy, the land acquisition officer will take consent of land owners regarding the total value of the land. The rates so fixed (circle rate/collector rates/market rates) shall be presumed to be accepted. lf consensus is not reached, the matter will be placed before the district price fixation committee, he said.
Chandigarh deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh confirmed that the land acquisition process had begun and was expected to be completed in the next six months.
A total of 51 acres needs to be acquired for the project of which 39.6 acres fall in Chandigarh and the remaining 12 acres in Punjab’s Jagatpura and Khandala villages.
The UT administration will spend ₹106.69 crore to acquire the 39.6 acres, which include 6.6 acres of leftover land falling between the proposed 60 metre right-of-way (ROW) road and the UT/Punjab boundary.
Alignment has been finalised in consultation with all stakeholders. Tentative alignment of proposed ROW has been made on the ground in consultation with revenue authorities of Chandigarh. Site survey and inspection of defence land to be transferred has been done by revenue staff.
The working permission of the Union ministry of defence has been received for permanent transfer of defence land measuring 0.98 acre to Chandigarh.
“Also, the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) has accorded approval to the proposal for construction of a road covering around 1.1 km within their premises at their own level. However, a decision regarding the execution and expenditure thereof is to be taken by CHAIL,” said the official.
New road to cut travel time to five minutes
The Chandigarh administration is planning the shorter route from near Sector 48. The new road will start from the T-point intersection of Vikas Marg (coming from Sector-43 ISBT) and Purv Marg (coming from Tribune Chowk).
The current distance from this intersection to the airport is 11.5 km after traversing through Mohali. The shorter route will reduce this to around 3.5 km, thereby bringing the travel time down from 25 minutes to 5 minutes.
The shorter route being planned will be 60 metres wide, with three main carriageways, two service lanes and 2-metre-wide cycle tracks on both sides.