RVNL acquires hospital land for Metro project in Kolkata

Kolkata: Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has received possession of land from CMRI Hospital. However, RVNL cannot use this land yet. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) needs more land to shift utilities. This is necessary for the construction of the Purple Line’s ramp and the underground station at Kidderpore. The Joka-Esplanade Metro project is at risk due to land acquisition issues in Kidderpore. Back in 2020, RVNL began acquiring land for the 14.1 km Metro corridor. A deal was made to provide 11,750 square feet of land for road widening and utility shifting, but the Bodyguard Lines land is still not available. For the underground section of the project, Diamond Harbour Road is being widened by 5 meters on either side. This widening is crucial for moving underground utilities. RVNL has already paid KMC Rs 57 crore for this purpose. After obtaining the CMRI land, RVNL intended to start dismantling a 165-meter-long hospital boundary wall. This would allow KMC to proceed with utility shifting. However, KMC prefers to have 850 meters of the Behala-bound flank to work with all at once, instead of in smaller phases. A KMC official stated that they have faced delays and wasted efforts due to the lack of continuous land access for utility shifting.