KOCHI: The Kochi-Munnar-Theni Highway widening project has received a boost as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has issued a notification to acquire 7.5 acres of land in Neriyamanagam and Kuttamanagalam. The 151 km stretch has been awaiting widening for over a decade and the move will help decongest the 121 km Kochi-Munnar NH 85.
“While the land acquisition at Neriyamangalam will be used to straighten the road, the land acquisition in Kuttamangalam in Ernakulam district would be made to construct a toll plaza. This is the first move taken by the NHAI to start the land acquisition process. The notification will be published in the newspaper, and after that, the land acquisition will start soon,” said a top officer with the revenue department.
The NHAI will acquire land from 18 landowners, mainly from forest areas, with a minimal impact on land acquisition and demolition.”The land acquisition process is expected to be relatively easy in this area, as most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the forest department. Only a few landowners will need to surrender their land, and the number of buildings to be demolished is also expected to be minimal,” sources said.
Meanwhile, sources in the revenue department informed that the NHAI is planning to bring in a new alignment, which would help reduce land acquisition.
“The NHAI had planned to issue the 3A notification for the entire stretch. But now they are planning to change it. Since the road passes through forest areas, widening the road to 45 meters is not possible. So they are planning to reduce the land acquisition by straightening the curves. However, a decision is yet to be taken,” he added.
Furthermore, there has been progress in the proposed greenfield highway between Angamaly and Kundannoor, which is being funded by the Centre. The NHAI has taken steps to acquire land for the project, and sources indicate that the final documents for the 3A notification have been submitted to NHAI. It is likely that the notification will be published by the end of this month.