Athi River residents who have encroached on road reserves have been told to vacate voluntarily or be forcefully removed.
This is to allow the construction of a dual carriage highway along the Nairobi - Mombasa Road.
The call was made by Christine Njoroge, a land valuer at Inges Consulting Agency, who said the government would not compensate individuals who were illegally doing businesses on road reserves.
She said there was dire need for such individuals to reorganise themselves and relocate from road reserves to avoid being affected when the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) started to clear the road for the project.
Njoroge asserted that the government was in the process of valuing legal parcels of land whose owners would be affected if compulsory acquisition was effected.
The officer however told property owners in the region whose parcels of land would be acquired by the government for the road project to cooperate since they would be compensated for them.
Njoroge was speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Athi River town to sensitise the residents on the dual carriage project Monday. She assured the residents that the project would positively transform their lives.
The meeting was organised by Kenya National Highways Authority and was also attended by security officials from the region.
Athi River assistant deputy county commissioner, Philip Lemarasia, told the residents to be cooperative.