Authorities begin land acquisition for wayside amenities along Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway

Maharashtra authority is looking to acquire 10-12 acres of land at each of four locations in Nashik and Aurangabad district along the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has started the process of land acquisition for the development of wayside amenities along the under-construction 700-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway.

According to the tender documents, the MSRDC is looking to acquire 10-12 acres of land at each of four locations in the Nashik and Aurangabad districts, for which the authorities have adopted the land pooling model.

"For development and operations and maintenance of wayside amenities (the “Project”) and facilities on either side of the project corridor, the Authority has decided to procure land parcels on a land-pooling basis and lease a part of the identified land parcels to eligible contractors/developers/operators," reads the tender document floated by MSRDC.

Per the tender document, the minimum investment for the construction of wayside amenities at each location will be around Rs 50 crore,  and successful bidders will have 60 months to complete the work.

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What amenities?

According to the list MSRDC, the amenities include parking lots for cars, buses, and trucks, workshops for vehicle repairs, toilets, restaurants, first aid centres, fuel stations, etc.

What is the land pooling model?

Under the land pooling scheme, landholders will get around 30 percent of the developed land in lieu of giving their land to the government.

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This model was adopted for the initial land acquisition for the expressway as well but received a tepid response as over 60 percent of the land-owners opted to sell the land instead. Under the direct purchase scheme, MSRDC was offering five times the prevailing ready reckoner rate for a particular area.