Land acquisition extended till Nov

MOHALI: Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has extended the acquisition process for its seventh independent township, Aerotropolis, till November, owing to the Covi lockdown. Earlier, the acquisition was to be done by May this year.

The project is spread over 5,400 acres. GMADA had already issued a notification under section 11 of the Land acquisition Act to acquire 737 acres of land. The Act pertains to preliminary notification for acquiring the land and calling objections from landowners.

The township is an expansion of GMADA’s Aerocity and will comprise both residential and commercial spaces. Situated in the vicinity of Chandigarh international airport, it will come up on both sides of the ZirakpurBanur road. In the first phase, land will be acquired in Chau Majra, Saini Majra, Patton, Manauli, Siaun and Matran of Mohali district.

Sanjeev Kumar, GMADA estate officer, said, “We have extended the acquisition process till November and for the announcement of award under the Land Acquisition Act, we have sent the file to authorities concerned for approval. Once it is done, we will begin the process.”

He further said the announcement of award for payment of compensation to land owners and other affected persons was practically the last step towards acquisition of land after the department of housing and urban development, Punjab, issues a notification.

Another senior official of GMADA said that the development authority has to purchase the said land under land pooling policy 2013. Recently, GMADA had also increased compensation for land owners opting for its land pooling scheme for various residential projects. Instead of 121 square yards, the authority will now offer the land owners a commercial plot of 200 square yards, he said. Under the land pooling scheme, farmers are offered housing and commercial sites in lieu of their land.