Joint measurement to be carried out under police protection for Nashik ring road land acquisition

Nashik: The district administration will carry out joint measurement of land in at least four of the 25 villages, through which the proposed ring road around Nashik city will pass, under police protection, collector Ayush Prasad said.

While joint measurement has been carried out in some villages, and in other sections the process of measurement and filing of reports is underway.

"There is resistance in a few villages where farmers are not allowing us to carry out the joint measurement. We will, therefore, have to seek police protection before carrying out the process," said Prasad.

The villages identified for police protection include Pimpalgaon Khamb and Pimpalgaon Bahula in Nashik city police jurisdiction, and Moongsare and Matori under the Nashik Rural police.

In Moongsare village, the administration gas registered an FIR against those who are disrupting the process.

In two villages, joint measurement is awaited because of changes in the alignment, and there are two other villages under the Panchayat Extension of Scheduled Areas Act where the process is also being followed.

Land survey and joint measurements have been completed in seven villages, and the process of finalisation of the valuation of the land and the properties in them is being carried out.

In another set of 10 villages, joint measurement has been carried out, and the allied process is to be completed by next week.

The 66.5km ring road is to pass through 25 villages around Nashik city, and it has to be put in place before the Simhastha Kumbh Mela.

The land is being bought from farmers on a direct purchase basis, which will ensure farmers got a 25% premium on the sale of the land.

The ring road, valued at Rs 7,613 crore, is being executed by the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation and required acquisition of 386 hectares across Igatpuri, Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Dindori, Niphad and Sinnar talukas.

While the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will cover construction costs, the state govt is funding the land acquisition. Once completed, the road will encircle the city, passing through both rural pockets and municipal limits to alleviate the massive traffic influx expected during the religious festival.