Land will be cleared for ROB work

Assuring to clear the decks for transfer of 2,685 square metres of land sought by the State Highways Department for construction of the multilevel road over bridge near Tiruchi Junction, Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday that the State Government's sanction of land of equal value in Kanchipuram district had not come to her notice.

The Highways Department had not been able to complete the unfinished Chennai arm of the ROB for the last two years.

“I will call for the file and clear it immediately,” the Defence Minister said, after State Minister Vellamandi N. Natarajan said the State Government had already complied with the Defence Ministry's requirement, during the launch of projects under Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor.

Tiruchi MP P. Kumar also raised the issue, and also sought sanction of Defence Ministry's land for expansion of the airport and construction of an integrated bus stand at Mannarapuram in the city.

The Defence Minister said she would examine the proposal for an integrated bus stand in right earnest, observing that the people's welfare will be considered.

The Union Minister cited instances of some projects in the cities of Bengaluru and Mumbai where the Defence Ministry had to part with its land for the public cause.

All the same, there was a dire need for the Ministry to retain land it owns for future use.

Else, land being a State subject, there would be problems for the Centre in making acquisitions for launch of defence projects in future, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman explained.

Source