Haryana to Acquire Metro Land Under 2013 Act

GURUGRAM: The Haryana government has decided to acquire private land needed for the Gurugram Metro under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, after most landowners declined to sell under the state's direct purchase policy, officials said on Sunday.

The parcels sit in Islampur, Basai and Kanhai and together measure a little over 10,500 square metres. Officials put the split at about 8,600 sq m in Islampur, 1,696 sq m in Basai and 534 sq m in Kanhai. The Urban Estates department will start the statutory acquisition process.

The decision follows a review chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, where Phase One of the metro, from Millennium City Centre to Sector 9, was reviewed. Agencies were also told to shift utilities that cut across the alignment without further delay.

The earlier plan was to buy the plots by negotiation, with each owner settling price and terms directly with the metro company. It stalled. Owners asked for more money, replacement plots and jobs, and several parcels have more than one claimant. Only a handful have agreed to sell so far.

What the 2013 law changes for the corridor

The 2013 Act links compensation to market value and provides rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements for eligible affected families. In rural areas the compensation component can go up to four times market value; in urban areas it can be up to twice market value, subject to the Act's location and eligibility rules. Acquisition under the statute lets the state proceed after due process even when every owner does not consent.

A May notice had already flagged nearly 8,653.63 sq m in Islampur village under Badshahpur sub-tehsil, including key chunks of about 1,881 sq m, 2,759.22 sq m and two other parcels totalling 3,637.15 sq m. In Kanhai, 534 sq m on an institutional plot in Sector 44 near Fortis Hospital was listed. In Basai, about 1,695.74 sq m was identified across smaller parcels linked to Sector 9.

On utilities, the National Highways Authority of India has said power feeders and the water pipeline between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk are to be shifted by 31 December this year. The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority has asked for the gas pipeline to be moved by 31 October. Officials framed the acquisition switch as a way to stop land hold-ups from stretching the metro timeline further.

For residents along the Islampur-Basai-Kanhai belt, the next steps will be notices, valuation and the rehabilitation package under the 2013 law rather than one-to-one sale talks. Project agencies say Phase One needs a clear right of way before civil works and station packages can move at a steady pace. The metro company's direct-purchase policy, which already allowed a fallback to acquisition where owners refused, is posted at https://www.gmrl.org.in/Downloads/PolicyforPrivateLandAcquisition.pdf.