Chennai: After years of struggles and hiccups, the satellite bus terminus at Kilambakkam near Vandalur will soon become a reality as CMDA has allotted 7.4 acre land for MTC and SETC buses.
Not only that, tenders have also been floated for developing the entire terminus on the 30-acre land cleared by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). According to the new plan, there will be 13 platforms capable of stationing 82 buses.
The State government’s ambitious project to build a large mofussil bus terminus at Kilambakkam landed in multiple troubles leading to the project coming to a halt last year.
Right from the acquisition from VGP Group to the issues with ASI and private land owners, the 88-acre land sanctioned by Kanchipuram Revenue Department after a decade-long fight in the court remained idle for more than two years.
ASI claimed the spot to be a megalithic site adding that ancient giant burial urns have been recovered from the notified area. ASI’s role here dates back to January 2010 when the Central government amended the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.
After the strict implementation of the rule, construction was banned within 100 metres of ASI-protected areas and any construction or reconstruction or repair of a building with 200 metres of such areas required permission from National Monuments Authority.
To make matters worse, even a section of private owners went to court last year to ban an entry road construction to the terminus from Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road as the stretch was intruding into their private lands.
During a review meeting in August 2017, CMDA officials pointed various flaws in the consultant report and claimed that it has been done without sorting out the issues with land-owners and ASI.
Later, after many rounds of discussions with ASI officials and private land-owners, 30 acres of the 88-acre land got cleared. But ASI gave permission only for small buildings. The land earmarked for the proposed bus terminus fell under three categories of regulated constructions as per the amended Act.
Now with CMDA getting a green signal, it has floated tenders for the construction process and has allotted 7.4 acre land for MTC buses along the GST Road.
THIS IS THIRD
Kilambakkam is the third location identified for the satellite bus terminus. While the government decided to set up an inter-city bus terminal at Velacheri in 2011, the proposal was shifted to Vandalur a few years later. A piece of land at Nandivaram in Guduvanchery was also proposed last year but soon withdrawn.