KOCHI: The land acquisition procedures for the development of National Highway-66 will be completed by August this year. A decision in this regard was taken at the review meeting held in the presence of Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the LuLu International Convention Centre at Bolgatty here on Saturday.
The alignment for the road development has been prepared considering environmental impact and population density in the area, said Chief Secretary Paul antony. According to PWD Principal Secretary G Kamalavardhana Rao, the land acquisition rate for the Kasargod Thalapady - Chengala Road has been pegged at Rs 7.5 crore per hectare. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has agreed to bear the expenses for land acquisition. The state government will handover 35 acres of land to NHAI at Peryia in Kasargod district for setting up a Multi Modal Logistics park.
The state government also urged the Union Minister to take initiatives to rebuild two 60-year-old bridges as part of the NH 66 development project. Gadkari said the NHAI will reconstruct the bridges at Paloli and Moorad in Kozhikode district.
He also directed the NHAI officers to submit the detailed project report for the development of ports in the state under the Sagarmala project.
The NHAI will bear the expense for the construction of the Airport ramp in Thiruvananthapuram. The Union Government had earlier suggested that the state and Centre share the expense for the construction of the `140-crore ramp project. However, the Minister accepted the state government's request to bear the total expense for the project.
The meeting also decided to expedite the implementation of the Thiruvananthapuram Ring Road project, the expenses of which will be equally shared by the state and Central governments. The minister also issued directives to the officers concerned to finalise the alignment and stop the registration procedures in the area immediately.
The meeting also discussed the relocation of the toll plaza at Kumbalam on the Aroor - Edappally Bypass in Kochi.
District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla said the district administration has identified an ideal location for the toll plaza.
Gadkari also promised to provide Central fund for the development of waterways in the state.
PWD Minister G Sudhakaran, Revenue Principal Secretary P H Kurian, District Collectors S Karthikayan (Kollam), A Kowsigan (Thrissur), Amit Meena (Malappuram), U V Jose (Kozhikode), Mir Mohammed Ali (Kannur) and P Suresh Babu (Palakkad), NHAI technical CGM Alok Dipankar and other officers participated.