On Friday, Air Force authorities and Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd. (K-RIDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for transfer of the latter’s land at Jalahalli for the Bengaluru suburban rail project. The land is required for execution of corridor-2 (Mallige line) of the project from Benniganahalli to Chikkabanavara.
A press release by K-RIDE stated that the corridor-2 project has “transited from drawing board to execution phase.” Defence land at multiple locations such as Banaswadi Garrison, Airforce Jalahalli, and CQAE Yeshwantpur were identified for the first phase of the suburban rail project.
“The construction involving land acquisition, boundary wall construction, and various other preliminary works such as survey works, Geo-Technical Investigation, and Ground Penetration Report (GPR) have been completed,” said the release.
“The establishment of the batching plant is underway at three locations such as Jalahalli, Hebbal, and Benniganahalli, with the Jalahalli batching plant expected to commence operation soon. The land for the casting yard has been identified and finalised, with preliminary activities underway. The land for the casting yard was identified and finalised by the contractor and preliminary activities at the casting yard are underway,” it added.
The release further stated that the Environment and Social Impact Assessment study has been completed. Test piles at two locations near Hebbal and Yeshwantpur have been completed and testing activities are in progress and will be conducted in the coming week.
The SWR has transferred 157 acres of railway lands for the project. K-RIDE has also completed the acquisition of 5.11 acres of private land, claims the release. Land measuring 2.72 acres owned by BWSSB and other government agencies have also been transferred. However, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is yet to transfer 5.01 acres of land identified by K-RIDE.
“This project also involves the relocation of various Indian Railway buildings and facilities, including the Indian Railways Parcel office, SSE Office, and sub-station. Permission for the same has also been granted in principle by SWR. KIADB has already commenced disbursement of compensation to the impacted residents of buildings to-be demolished. The work of minor bridges has already commenced between the Chikkabanavara and Yeshwanthpur section,” stated the release. K-RIDE has conducted joint inspections with various agencies for shifting utilities coming on the way of the project.
The release further stated that tenders for construction of 12 stations of corridor-2 will be floated shortly. The length of the corridor is 25 km.
