Mumbai: With the recent amendment in the land acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act promising to ensure speedy acquisition of land wherever there is stiff resistance, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will soon start the bidding process for the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor.
As of now, close to 80 per cent land acquisition has been completed, and 22 bidders have come forward during the pre-qualification process to implement packages one to 13 of the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway project.
A senior MSRDC official said, “So far, 22 companies have completed the pre-qualification process for 13 out of the 16 packages. The last three packages are a bit difficult to implement, hence not many bidders have come forward.”
The entire corridor has been divided into 16 packages for implementation. The work of the expressway has already missed two deadlines since the authority could not acquire much of the land required for the project to start the work.
A total 90 per cent of land is required to award the contract. The Asian Age reported in its May 7 edition that the MSRDC had completed nearly 80 per cent of land acquisition.
The new amendment makes giving land mandatory for those who have been refusing to give it voluntarily.
Till now, the MSRDC has been purchasing land directly, paying an extra 25 per cent to landowners. As per the official figures, more than 5,000 out of the total 8,000 acres of land has been directly purchased.
