Mumbai: CIDCO is facing significant challenges in acquiring the private land necessary for the Kharghar-Turbhe subway link. Landowners in the area have reportedly refused to accept plots under CIDCO's twenty-two and a half percent developed plot allotment scheme as compensation for land acquisition. To avoid delays in the project, CIDCO has assigned the responsibility of private land acquisition to the District Collector of Raigad, as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

In a recent CIDCO Board of Directors meeting, the board approved the proposal to delegate the responsibility of land acquisition for the Kharghar-Turbhe subway link to the District Collector of Raigad. The Kharghar-Turbhe Subway Link (KTLR) is a critical project by CIDCO, aimed at directly connecting the International Corporate Park (ICP) under construction in Kharghar.

The project is expected to cost Rs. 3,166.78 crore, including contingency expenses, and CIDCO is determined to complete the KTLR project within the next four years. Once completed, the subway link will reduce travel time by at least 15 minutes for motorists traveling from Mumbai towards Pune between Vashi and Kharghar. Additionally, it will alleviate traffic congestion in this corridor.

The KTLR road will span 5.49 km with four lanes in both directions. The route will be fully elevated, featuring a 3.4 km viaduct and a 1.8 km tunnel through Parsik Hill, which will connect Turbhe to the International Corporate Park. This project is expected to significantly improve traffic flow on the Sion-Panvel route, which has been experiencing heavy congestion due to the increased number of vehicles traveling towards Thane, Panvel, Kalyan, Dombivli, Kalamboli, JNPT, Pune, Konkan, Karnataka, and Goa.

With ongoing construction on the fourth bridge over Vashi Khadi, traffic congestion on the Sion-Panvel route is likely to worsen. Given these circumstances, it has become imperative for the state government and CIDCO to expedite the construction of the Turbhe-Kharghar subway.

Despite the Board of Directors approving land acquisition through the District Collector, the land acquisition process at CIDCO's level will continue under Section 126 of the Maharashtra Regional Planning and Town Planning Act, 1966. The land acquired by CIDCO will be coordinated with the efforts of the District Collector, and any land already acquired by CIDCO will be excluded from the Collector's acquisition proposal. Following this, the District Collector of Raigad will issue the final notification of land acquisition and announce the decision.