KOLKATA: The Joka-Esplanade metro, which has made significant progress on the elevated stretch, is still suffering because of non-availability of required land for its depot and stations.The stretch faces an uncertain future with the railway minister Piyush Goyal reiterating the acquisition of 75% land is necessary before receiving a nod for the construction of the Joka depot. Goyal even asked railways officials to assess whether the project should be scrapped for want of requisite land.The depot, which is most crucial for even the truncated service along its elevated stretch from Joka to Majherhaat, will require minimum three years for completion. So far, only 65% of 24.5 hectare depot land spreading across five moujas in Joka has been obtained.“Unless we have the physical possession of 75% of the project land, we cannot call tender,” said RVNL officer. Earlier, RVNL invited bids and eventually cancelled it because of the revised mandate of the Railways Board. “Unless we get the needed land immediately, the deadline of 2021 cannot be met,” said another officer.Acquisition of land has been a major hurdle in Bengal ever since Singur and Nandigram movement paved the way for change of political regime of Bengal. This is why Bengal government came forward replenishing Rs 16 crore as viability gap funding against RVNL’s offer of Rs 1.1 lakh per cottah to farmers. The state is, however, persuading some big land holders to part with their land for smoother implementation of the depot construction.Not only depot land, but also station construction sites face some serious encroachment issues.

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