Mumbai, July 3 -- Public Works Minister P K Basheer announced administrative sanction of Rs one bn and granted technical approval for the long-delayed Thammanam-Pullepady road project, with Rs 938.9 mn allocated through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). He said the land required for the project has been identified and that a preliminary notification for acquisition will be issued. Revenue and Public Works Department authorities are taking follow-up measures to complete the due process.
The announcement followed a submission in the state assembly by Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod urging the government to expedite land acquisition for the scheme, which was included under the KIIFB in the 2016-17 term but remained unexecuted. The three point six-km-long road will link Padma Junction on MG Road with Thammanam and Chakkaraparambu on the national highway and is expected to relieve chronic traffic congestion in Kochi. Land acquisition originally began in 1998.
About 102.41 acres were voluntarily surrendered to the Kochi corporation by 83 landowners under its floor area ratio model, and a further 111.41 acres was acquired using Rs 250 mn sanctioned during the tenure of former chief minister Oommen Chandy as part of preparatory works for the Kochi Metro. Around nine acres across 212 survey numbers, owned by nearly 500 stakeholders, still remain to be acquired. The unresolved parcels include a small plot that has become a shop and breaks the continuity of the alignment.
Activists criticised the corporation for not acquiring land earlier and said the shortage of funds remains an impediment. Some landowners reclaimed property and established businesses on key plots, undermining corridor viability, and a 500 square foot pothole has been reported at Kathrikadavu Junction. The Kerala Road Fund Board marked alignment and boundary stones, but digital surveys using real-time kinematic technology remain incomplete, delaying valuation and acquisition; Basheer has urged the district collector to appoint revenue officers for surveying and stakeholders have sought repair of entry and exit points to ensure seamless passage.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.