While the State capital’s Metro Rail project is poised for rapid expansion into its next phase, a critical bottleneck in ground-level land acquisition has emerged. Nearly 200 families in the Aishbagh and Chiklod Road areas find themselves in a state of financial limbo, unable to receive compensation because their private properties lack valid, updated ownership documentation. Project insiders reveal that the vast majority of pending compensation cases are stalled due to historical discrepancies in land titles. Much of the land in these pockets is classified as ‘Abadi’, originally allotted to the ancestors of current residents during the Nawab era. While the current occupants possess municipal corporation registries and have been paying local taxes for decades, their names do not appear in the Revenue Department’s primary ledger.

 

Since the land is still officially registered under the names of their grandfathers or great-grandfathers, the district administration is facing insurmountable legal hurdles in issuing the mandatory Land Possession Certificates (LPC). Stagnation on the one-kilometre stretch: The pace of compensation distribution is at its slowest along a vital one-kilometre stretch between Chiklod Road and Aishbagh. Residents like Dilip Singh and Radheshyam Sahu are among those whose properties are slated for demolition to make way for the Metro alignment, yet their files remain gathered in dust at the Collector’s office. Without a direct link between the current claimant and the name on the official revenue record, the administration cannot legally authorise the payouts. Sources at the Collector’s office clarified that the Government is not withholding funds.

 

Instead, they emphasised that statutory regulations mandate that compensation can only be credited to the bank accounts of individuals officially recognised in the state’s revenue records. The funds are ready for disbursement, and there is no lack of intent to pay. However, we cannot bypass the mandatory legal process. Residents must produce updated titles or clear, legally-verified inheritance documentation to facilitate the transfer of funds,” informed Metro management.