Land acquisition to be completed in 10 days to widen road.

The land acquisition to widen 1.5 km road in Vadavalli is expected to be completed in two weeks.

The State Highways Department took up widening of five km road in Vadavalli into a four-lane one and completed it for 3.5 km in 2012. The remaining 1.5 km required land acquisition and it was pending.

About ₹. 4 crore was sanctioned by the State Government for the acquisition and notices were said to be issued a few months ago to the land owners.

The District Revenue Officer Durai Ramachandran told The Hindu on Wednesday that the acquisition process is on and it would be completed in 10 to 15 days.

An official of the State Highways Department said the funds have been paid to the land owners. The acquisition process might be completed in a week. After that the Corporation would construct a drain on the roadside.

K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, said the project has been pending for the last six years. While there have been commitments earlier too, there was no progress and the acquisition is yet to be completed for the road at Vadavalli.

This is one of the most congested stretches and pedestrians walk on the road due to lack of space on roadsides. “Why should the public suffer because of such delays,” he asked. Several infrastructure projects in the city are affected as land acquisition takes time. “The officials should focus on completing the land acquisition for all the projects,” he said.

THE HINDU