Hyderabad, Aug 23 : Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) is speeding up the land acquisition process for the old city Metro between Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) and Chandrayangutta, a senior official said on Friday.

HMRL and Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML) Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy said that about 1,200 properties are getting affected by the road widening and for construction of Metro stations in this stretch of 7.5 km.

Out of these 1200 properties, notifications have been issued for 400 properties so far under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and are being published in newspapers.

Reddy said that the road is being widened to 100 feet as per Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Master Plan. However, at Metro station locations, the road is being widened to 120 feet. The current width of the road varies from 50 feet to 60 feet from Darulshifa Junction to Shalibanda Junction, while it is 80 feet from Shalibanda Junction to Chandrayangutta, he said.

The affected portion of each property in majority cases will be about 20 to 25 feet from Darulshifa to Shalibanda; and about 10 feet from Shalibanda to Chandrayangutta.

However, the affected portion will increase at station locations and in stretches with deep curvature. The MD has informed that apart from conventional survey methods, a Lidar drone survey was done to get a 3D view of the affected properties and the neighbouring properties. Physical inspection is also being done by HAML engineers for structural valuation of the affected properties.

All the 103 religious and other sensitive structures in this stretch are being protected through innovative engineering solutions and careful adjustment of Metro pillars and station locations, he said.

The owners of the affected parties can seek clarifications, file objections etc., in the office of the Land Acquisition Officer, HAML during the stipulated period. The whole land acquisition process is likely to take about 8 months as per the procedures of the Land Acquisition Act, he added.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Old City Metro Rail project on March 8. Though part of the first phase of the Hyderabad Metro, the stretch from MGBS to Falaknuma could not be taken up for several years due to various reasons. After the formation of the Congress government late last year, Revanth Reddy announced that the Metro line will be further extended from Falaknuma to Chandrayangutta, which will be developed as a major interchange station on the proposed Airport line of Nagole-LB Nagar-Chandrayangutta-Mailardevpally-P7 Road-Shamshabad Airport.

/IANS