A Rs 80crore flyover that promises to decongest the southern end of the EM Bypass is ready for use but can't be opened to traffic because the road leading to it hasn't been completed, thanks to familiar land-related problems.

Three families have refused to move from the construction zone unless they are given land elsewhere, although they have all accepted the compensation offered by the authorities. Another three acres of land required to complete a stretch of the road have yet to be acquired from their private owners, sources said.

The twin hurdles mean that there is no avoiding the perennially choked Kamalgazi crossing on Netaji Subhas Road despite a flyover running across it.

"We completed our project more than a month ago. Our engineers and other employees have since been shifted to other sites," said an official of Larsen & Toubro, the company that built the Kamalgazi flyover.

The purpose of the 1.164km flyover is to ease the unending snarls at the Kamalgazi crossing, where the EM Bypass merges with Netaji Subhas Road.

Snarls are a daily irritant on Netaji Subhas Road, the narrow thoroughfare that leads to Narendrapur, Baruipur and beyond from Garia and Kamalgazi. The Baruipur Bypass is a much wider road that cannot be used because of three houses blocking one stretch and three acres of privately owned land standing in the way of another.

The flyover takes off from the EM Bypass's southern end, runs over the Kamalgazi crossing and goes down about 300 metres ahead of the Elaichi crossing on the Baruipur Bypass, which runs parallel to Netaji Subhas Road.

An official of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), the state government agency that is implementing the project, said getting the three families to move had proved a problem. "There are these three families who have already accepted compensation from us to relocate but are now asking for land elsewhere," the official told Metro.

The official said the CMDA was trying to convince the families to shift but couldn't be sure when a solution would emerge. "We are talking to them. Let's see how we can resolve this."

Even if the settlers move out of the way, the CMDA would still need to acquire three acres from private owners to complete the alignment. The South 24-Parganas administration is supposed to pay for the land but the onus of getting the owners' consent is on the implementing agency.

"We had a meeting with CMDA officials about 20 days ago. They are supposed to talk to the land owners and hand us a letter of consent, after which we can start negotiating a price for the land," said P.B. Salim, the district magistrate of South 24-Parganas.

Sources said the CMDA was in touch with the land owners to acquire the three acres needed to complete that stretch of the Baruipur Bypass. "We understand that the flyover is crucial to solving the traffic problems on Netaji Subhas Road and are doing everything possible to remove the bottlenecks that have delayed its inauguration," an official said.

Once the flyover is opened, traffic headed south from the EM Bypass can take the flyover to avoid the congested Kamalgazi junction. Vehicles coming towards the city from the Narendrapur side will be able to take the other flank of the flyover to hit the Bypass in a jiffy.

"The crossing is a mess during the morning and evening rush. At night, it is worse because heavy vehicles start plying. It is a pity that the flyover is ready and yet can't be opened to traffic immediately," said a resident of the neighbourhood.

Several infrastructure projects in Calcutta, including the Parama-Park Circus flyover and the East-West Metro, have been delayed by years because of land logjams.

But not everyone is unhappy about the opening of the Kamalgazi flyover being delayed. Residents of multi-storey buildings on either side fear that traffic on the flyover would take away their peace. "I bought a property here since it was away from the main road and lined by trees. So many tress have been felled to build the Baruipur Bypass that the area is almost unrecognisable from what it was," a disgruntled resident said.