Land Acquisition for Outer Ring Roads

Land acquisition is the process of acquiring a land by central or state government for a wide range of infrastructure and economic growth initiatives. After the acquisition, the owners are adequately compensated by monetary benefits or are allocated land at a different location. Land acquisition in India is currently practised under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Since 2011, a new law has been proposed with amendments and is being considered as a new law  - the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill.

Currently, acquisition of land for the Outer Ring Road project has become a new trend in India. Outer Ring Roads are constructed with the objective of relieving the congestion within the city, and also as a landmark for urban growth and for development of further satellite townships

Outer Ring Road in Surat

Acquisition of land for the Outer Ring Road project in Surat is expected to start soon as possible as there are no objections coming from the farmers from whom the lands are acquired. The project is for Rs. 5000 crores, and is being developed by Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

The total length of the Outer Ring Road project is 66 km and the project will be carried out in phases. As per the phase I plan, Surat Municipal Corporation will develop 29 km of road stretch which will comprise construction of buildings up to 70 metres in height on both sides of the road.

Outer Ring Road in Chennai

CMDA is planning to develop an Outer Ring Road (ORR) along the dotted lines of Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) with the objective to minimize the traffic congestion in the city. A 62 km six-lane Outer Ring Road will connect NH45 at Vandalur, NH4 at Nazarathpet, NH 205 at Nemilichery, NH5 at Nallur and TPP road at Minjur.

The first phase comprises of a distance of 30 km connecting Vandalur and Nemilichery (on Chennai-Tiruttani highway), is expected to be completed by year-end. For this complete project around 750 acres of land have been acquired in two phases. The land is acquired from BH 45 to NH 205 for a length of 29.2 km, covering almost 29 villages and the possession is taken over by CMDA. The acquisition for the second phase is under progress from NH 205 to TPP road covering 27 villages.

The road’s configuration comprises a road and rail corridor. Out of the whole acquisition of 122 metres, a portion 72 metres wide will be occupied by the road and rail corridor. The remaining 50 metre-wide portion will be retained by CMDA for future developments. The cost estimated for the project is Rs. 1082 crores.

The project is to be monitored and coordinated by the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu. This project has been awarded to M/s GMR Chennai Outer Ring Road Private Ltd., for implementing the project in two and half years.

Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad

The Nehru Outer Ring Road is a 158 kilometre long 8-lane ring road expressway which is build by HMDA at a cost of Rs. 6696 crores. In addition, Rs. 3123 crores are contributed by Japan International corporation agency. A stretch of around 124 km covering urban areas like Hi-Tech City, Nanakramguda Financial District, Hyderabad International Airport, IKP Knowledge Park, Hardware Park, State Police Academy, Singapore Financial District, and Games Village has already been opened in December 2012. This provides access to NH 9, NH 7, NH 4 and state highways leading to Vikarabad, Srisailam, Nagarjunasagarand Karimnagar/Mancherial. The expressway is completely fenced and the 33 radial roads connect it with the Inner Ring Road and the upcoming Regional Ring Road.

The land acquisition was done in two phases. In the first phase, around 750 acres of land was acquired; out of which the private land acquired was 500 acres. The land taken for second phase is about 5,500 acres, out of which the Govt. land is about 1,000 acres, and the balance is the private land. The estimated cost of acquisition is Rs. 250 crores.

The Nehru Outer Ring Road aims to improve connectivity and reduce the traffic flow on the existing major arterials between the outer suburbs of Greater Hyderabad. Now, even the APSRTC is planning to build 22 terminals and depots along the Outer Ring Road.

Outer Ring Roads are changing the skyline of many cities and are becoming business hubs. They also play a major role in urban development. However, it is essential to compensate the farmers with the correct compensation, either by monetary benefits or by providing land in another location, to avoid any major objections from the land owners.

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