Metro hopes Phase II land acquisition will be less painful.

From leveraging the width of national highways to hoping for a 'mentally prepared city', Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is hoping for a smoother land acquisition process for Phase II of the project.

Among the major decisions to ease acquisition is to use the existing service roads of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). In Phase I, NHAI had not allowed the use of a part of National Highway 4, between Yeshwanthpur and Nagasandra, said officials. However, faced with the demolition of a large number of built-up properties (that is, multi-storey buildings) in the proposed line between Central Silk Board junction and Electronics City, BMRCL believes the cost-effective option would be to use the service roads of National Highway 7.

'We are in talks with NHAI and other agencies to minimise land acquisition,' said BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola.

Channappa Gowda, General Manager (Land), BMRCL, believes using a part of the service road will entail acquisition between 5 to 7m, instead of 13m if the metro had to come besides the highway.

THE HINDU