The Times of India  02.11.2010

VADODARA: After a lull in the last few months, development work in the city is likely to get an impetus post- Diwali with Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) taking up the issue of land acquisition and removal of encroachments for various projects in the city. The process had been on hold since the onset of monsoon.

The civic body has prepared a list of projects for which land needs to be cleared. According to officials, a list of 29 such projects has been drawn across the city. These include 15 road projects, six storm water drain projects, three drainage projects and five others.

Officials said the civic body stopped the demolition drive during monsoon. Since this year the monsoon was followed by polls and then by Diwali festivities, the break became almost four-month-long. This delayed the process beyond the usual deadline by which VMC begins such work. The civic body held a meeting on Monday to discuss pending land acquisition and encroachment issues.

"The meeting was for better coordination between various departments. We hold such meetings regularly. A number of development work that needs attention was discussed. We will keep following up on the developments on these works in the future," VMC deputy municipal commissioner C M Makwana said.

Sources said that after Diwali, the civic body is expected to get into an overdrive to clear land for various projects. At the same time, officials have been asked to ensure that land vacated in this manner is used for the purpose it is cleared for at the earliest. This has been done in wake of the fact that if the service line or road is not laid at the particular spot, the encroachments tend to return making the entire exercise futile.