THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The implementation of outer ring road project which could be a gamechanger in terms of development in the capital will be delayed. Reason: The survey process for identifying the landowners on the two sides of the proposed road has only just begun and hence it will take atleast six months to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR). Hence the fund from the union government will be released only after submitting the DPR, government sources said.
Sources also pointed out that the project was not included in Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme. " No decision has been made so far to include this project in the scheme. However, it was only a proposal. Hopefully, the project will get included in the scheme soon", an officer who works in connection with the project said.
As per the details accessed by Express, the Larsen, and Turbo engineering who will conduct the Social Impact Study has begun collecting data from the village offices where
the land has to be acquired for the project. The L and T have outsourced the work for data collection. Once the data collection is completed, the alignment of the road will be designed. This will be a time-consuming process and hence the DPR preparation would take some time. However, a high-level meeting will be held next month comprising all the stakeholders related to the project. The outcome of the meeting will also be crucial for the project.
The Rs 1061-crore project is being taken up under Capital Region Development Committee (CRDP). CRDP’s committee is headed by the Chief Secretary. The proposalfor an outer ring road was mooted around four years ago to decongest the existing roads such as MC road, NH 66 and NH 66 bypass. In 2016, CRDP had invited suggestions regarding the alignment of the 45-kilometre road. Officials said many agencies including the Trivandrum Development Front (TDF) had approached them with suggestions.
The project will be implemented in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The state’s share will be Rs 189 crore and the Centre’s Rs 323 crore. The remaining Rs 549 crore is expected to be raised through PPP mode. It will be a 6-lane road which will be 60 metres wide. The proposed alignment goes through Mangalapuram, Panthalacode, Kanacode, Vencode, Aruvikkara, Cheriyakonni, Chowallor, Vilappilsala, Killy, Thungampara, Maranallor, Valiyarthala, Mukkampalamoodu, Mudavoorppara, Chavadinada, Venganoor, Kalluvettankuzhi and Vizhinjam.