Title - Litigation holds up Metro’s north line Malleswaram-Peenya Reach May Be Ready By This Year-End

Namma Metro is slipping up on its deadlines: two court cases over land acquisition are holding up work on crucial sections of the northern line between Malleswaram and Hesaraghatta Cross.

    Officials of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC), which had plans to commence commercial operations on the sector by this year-end, said the cases have delayed work by at least 10 months.

    The first case pertains to acquisition of a strip of land near the Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited (popularly known as Soap Factory) to build a Metro station. There was relief for BMRC when the high court dismissed an appeal against land acquisition by the land owner, GM Babu. But the court also stayed its verdict for two weeks to enable the parties to move the apex court, and ordered status quo for three weeks from April 28. BMRC will begin land acquisition and ground work on the station from May 10, subject to any order from the Supreme Court.

    “Work has certainly been affected, but even if litigation continues, we should be able to complete civil works on the rest of the line. The progress of the viaduct construction in the northern line is going on at a good pace, except for the station at the soap factory,” said a BMRC spokesperson.

    Another legal hurdle is holding up work on a 500-metre viaduct of the northern line near Dasarahalli. The dispute here is between two government agencies: the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and BMRC. Metro's proposal to construct the viaduct on a piece of land already acquired by NHAI is at the root of this legal dispute.

    “Reach 3B is the third stretch of the northern line. We will be able to complete that within the given deadline. We are looking at the possibility of opening Reach 3 and 3A from Malleswaram to Peenya by the year-end,” officials said.

    The northern line of the first phase of Namma Metro has three stretches — Reach 3, 3A and 3B. BMRC has completed 91% of viaduct construction on Reach 3, and 60% civil works at stations. The viaduct construction of the 3A and 3B extensions are 91% and 58% complete, but work at six stations on the stretch is progressing at snail’s pace.

TROUBLE BREWS UNDERGROUND

Controversies are dogging Namma Metro's underground stretches too. The state government's delay in taking a call on shifting the Ambedkar statue in front of Vidhana Soudha, affecting work on one underground section, is only one part of the story.

On the eastern side of the underground section, litigation involving BSNL and BMRC has delayed work at Minsk Square. Work is already behind schedule by over eight months.

However, BMRC is preparing the ground at this end by removing the steel decking for the arrival of the two tunnel boring machines, Helen and Margarita.

GREEN LINE IS READY FOR TRIAL

    Steel coaches sporting green borders are ready for trial runs on the northern line

    Stationed at Peenya depot, these coaches will run on the North-South corridor, also called Green line

    The first rake of the three coaches is being tested at Peenya depot

    The East-West corridor is called the Purple line

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The northern line of first phase of Namma Metro has 3 stretches — Reach 3, 3A, 3B