Hurdles Ahead for Amaravati ORR Project.

Land acquisition for the 210-km-long Outer Ring Road (ORR) around capital Amaravati is likely to be a Herculean task for the state government as most of the land has to be acquired as per the norms of the Land Acquisition Act,2013. It is estimated that the ORR project will need over 5,000 acres.

With the state government under fire from people living in the capital region and opposition parties for acquiring huge chunks of land for construction of the capital city, it will be a challenging job for the government to acquire land for laying ORR through Krishna and Guntur districts.

The government is planning to hand over the land within six months in order to complete the project in the next three years but, if the ground reality is taken into consideration, land acquisition will take more time than the intended time.

According to a top official of the roads and buildings department, the government is preparing strategies to acquire land for ORR to avoid litigation and time overrun. “It won't be easy for the government to acquire land for this project. Already, people have lost huge chunks of land for construction of the capital city in these districts. Acquiring land again for road projects will not be easy. We are expecting a lot of resistance from land owners,” he said. According to sources, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed officials to prepare strategies for acquiring lands for the project. Under his pressure, the Centre has appointed a consultant for the Amaravati ORR project.

“Implementation of the project will purely depend upon the land acquisition and officials are working on plans to convince land owners to surrender their lands without resistance. If land acquisition is delayed due to some reason or the other, the project will be delayed,” another senior R&B official cautioned.

Apart from land acquisition for ORR, the cash-starved government is also worried about the compensation to be paid to the land losers under the Act. It is estimated that the project cost will be around Rs. 20,000 crore. As the state is facing a revenue deficit of Rs. 16,000 crore, it will be very difficult for it to pay compensation to land owners.

Comparatively, acquiring lands for the proposed Express Highway between Amaravati and Bengaluru via Anantapur will be less troublesome as there is a separate law on central infrastructure projects.

Proposed ORR

The Amaravati ORR will pass through Perecherla and Pothuru; Chebrolu, Tenali and Jampani; cross Krishna river to enter Krishna district near Bhatlapenumarru and run through Pamarru, Gudivada, Hanuman Junction, Nuzvid and Mylavaram before crossing the Krishna again near Kanchikacherla to enter Amaravati in Guntur district.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS