Construction of Electronic City Metro Station in Bangalore has finally taken off after a gap of three years. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has been able to take possession of the disputed 1.5 acre land, which was in custody of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) promoters, after court’s intervention.
“We initially had some problems since it’s a disputed land. It was later sorted out with the help of BMRCL. Since last week, the work is going on smoothly. We may be able to build the station within 10-12 months,” an official of ITD Cementation India, which is building the 12.8-km stretch between Bommasandra and Hosa road, said.
The elevated line, consisting of 11 Metro stations, is part of the 19.14-km stretch that connects RV Road Metro station via Central Silk Board. The work, split in two packages, was awarded to ITD Ltd in mid-2017, with a deadline to complete the civil work by the end of 2020. While work on the entire 12.8-km stretch had begun smoothly, the company could not start work at Electronic City site due to want of land.
“We have taken possession of the land. The compensation will be subject to the final decision of the court,” Channappa Gowdar, special land acquisition officer of BMRCL said. Adding further, he said that another parcel of land on Tumakuru, currently in the custody of NICE company, is required for building Madawara (BIEC) station. “We are still in the process of acquisition,” he said.
Officials said they are expecting delay in the completion of Jayadeva Interchange Metro station as demolition of the flyover was not done on time. “The Metro line on the Hosur road is in advanced stage of completion. We expect the Central Silk Board station to be ready much before the Jayadeva station. Our plan is to run operations between Bommasandra and Central Silk Board without waiting for the entire stretch to be ready,” a senior Metro official said.