The land acquisition notification for the much-delayed Atlantis Rail Overbridge will be published shortly.
About one acre of land will have to be acquired for the project. The Kochi Corporation had earlier occupied 1.7 acres of land. Ten houses and three other buildings are located on the land to be acquired for the overbridge, said an official of the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala, which is implementing the project.
The social impact assessment of the project was completed sometime back and the report was submitted to the district collector. The District Collector will have to issue 11(1) notification under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The overbridge connecting Panampilly Nagar and MG Road, which will run parallel to the South Overbridge, is expected to significantly reduce the traffic pressure in the city.
Rs 48.87 crore will be spent on the exchequer on land acquisition alone. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board has earmarked Rs 89.77 crore for the project. The official said the board has agreed to meet any possible increase in land acquisition and construction expenses for the project.
Delay in getting land has been the biggest hurdle in the implementation of the project. Construction can start after land acquisition and other formalities are completed. A senior board official said the project may take a year to complete.
Incidentally, the construction of the road overbridge was at the top of the agenda of the Kochi Corporation for more than two decades. Although the civic body had earlier attempted to implement the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, it did not succeed as the mission did not fund the land acquisition component of the project. The proposal to fix the bridge’s alignment and reduce the width of its carriageway had generated heated debate in the city.
The Kochi Corporation has brought this project to the notice of the State Government. Industries Minister P. Rajeev will review the progress of the project shortly, Mayor M. Anilkumar said.