KOCHI: It was mooted as a much-needed solution to the acute traffic congestion being witnessed in Muvattupuzha town, but the Muvattupuzha bypass project, along with a similar one in Kothamangalam, would remain a non-starter after the state government turned down the demand of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to meet a part of the ‘high’ land acquisition cost.
The 4.3-km Muvattupuzha NH bypass from Puthuppady to Kadathy was mooted along with another bypass project being implemented by the state government from Muvattupuzha KSRTC bus station (130 Jn) to Kadathy to decongest the town, where a heavy traffic congestion is witnessed during peak hours.
As per the alignment, the NH bypass having 30-metre width will begin from near the Canadian Central School (Puthuppady along the Muvattupuzha-Kothamangalam route) and end near Bhakta Nandanar Temple Road (Kadathy along the Kochi-Theni Greenfield Highway (NH 85), while crossing the MC Road.
Similarly, the 3.80-km Kothamangalam bypass (also 30-metre width) was mooted from near Ayyappankavu School and end near Alumkal Rubber Nursery to decongest the town at the border of the Ernakulam district.
“The state government turned down the demand of the NHAI to bear the ‘extra’ land acquisition cost, following which the projects are on hold. Also the 3(A) notification period with respect to both the bypass projects ended earlier this week,” said a senior official in-charge of the land acquisition.
A notification under Section 3(A) of the National Highways Act ceases to be valid if the central government does not publish a declaration (regarding land acquisition) within one year of its publication, and the whole LA process needs to be restarted. The notification to acquire land for the bypass projects, which are part of the Kochi-Munnar NH 85 corridor, was issued on December 7, 2023, and the mandatory one-year period has expired.
As per the DPR, the LA cost of the Muvattupuzha bypass was `292 crore for acquiring 13.86 hectares of land. But the increased land value meant the same would exceed Rs 350 crore.
“The NHAI wrote to the state government to bear the cost over `350 crore but the latter rejected the same,” the official added. Similarly, the initial LA cost for the Kothamangalam bypass was `283 crore for acquiring 17.64 hectare of land, but the same has exceeded now.
‘Murikallu’ gets lease of life
This comes even as a stalled ‘Murikallu bypass’ project of the state government, a 4-km road from ‘130 Junction’ near Muvattupuzha KSRTC bus station along the MC Road to Kadathy along the NH 85, has been revived now. “The project, which was commenced in 2009, got stalled for a long time. This is even as five acres of land was acquired in the first phase and a bridge was also constructed.
However, the project got stalled due to fund shortage to acquire the remaining five acres. Now, the LA process has revived with the state government allocating the required fund,” said an official in-charge of the land acquisition.