BHOPAL: Protest against district administration’s decision to acquire land for construction of smart road before rehabilitation continued for the second consecutive day on Sunday. Corporator Shabista Zaiki, Leader of Opposition in BMC Mohammed Saghir and others visited the site where demolition was being held for land acquisition.
A six-lane road equipped with all smart features will be constructed from Depot Square to Polytechnic Square at the cost of Rs 28 crore. It will be country’s first six-lane smart road to come up in a city selected under Smart City Project in the first phase.
Locals have been demanding proper rehabilitation before land acquisition. Though a court stay on demolition too is in place, the BMC administration has continued with its demolition drive to pave way for the smart road. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had performed bhoomi pujan for construction of smart road on the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Mohammed Saghir said, “The state government is functioning in a dictatorial fashion. We are not against construction of smart road development. However, residents should be properly rehabilitated before land acquisition. No one is listening to us. Mayor Alok Sharma is befooling CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Without preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR), land is being acquired. Chouhan was convinced for bhoomi pujan in a hurriedly held function. Later, demolition drive was launched in the name of land acquisition.”
