THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union cabinet has granted environmental clearance for the proposed Rs 8,398 crore Greenfield Outer Ring Road connecting Vizhinjam and Navaikulam on Wednesday putting an end to uncertainties and delay.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has granted environmental clearance for the 62.7 km project, subject to a series of environmental safeguards. As many as 6500 parties who have surrendered their land for the project had approached the High Court seeking intervention in the matter.
An official source told TNIE that the disbursal of compensation and tendering of the project will happen simultaneously. The project is expected to be completed in 30 months.
The project,implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will stretch from Navaikulam to Vizhinjam and the alignment passes through 24 villages across six Taluks - Varkala, Chirayinkeezhu, Nedumangad, Kattakada, Neyyatinkara and Thiruvananthapuram.
The land acquisition cost for the project is estimated at Rs 4,129 crores.
Around 314.05 hectares of land will be acquired for the project of which 93.6% comprises private land and 6.39 percent government land. The ORR has a proposed right of way of 45 metres, including service roads, widening to between 60 and 80 metres at tunnels, slip roads and their approaches.
For the project as many as 21,000 trees are likely to be felled and 84 vulnerable species to be displaced within the right of way. While NHAI has proposed planting 2.10 lakh trees, which is ten times the number likely to be felled.
It is learned that, owing to lack of space it may not be possible to provide three rows of roadside plantation as prescribed under IRC guidelines. Hence the NHAI has proposed plantation in forest areas as deposit work, if the Forest Department approves. The NHAI is planning Miyawaki plantations at the cloverleaf interchange.
Besides the tree loss, a biodiversity assessment by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) identified 84 potentially vulnerable species and roadkill hotspots along the alignment. The assessment has identified seven Schedule-I species — Crested Goshawk, Crested Hawk-Eagle, Black-headed Ibis, Spectacled Cobra, Russell's Viper, Indian Rock Python and Bengal Monitor Lizard. A
The KFRI has proposed a Rs 1.27 crore conservation plan to mitigate biodiversity destruction. The project also proposes a range of wildlife mitigation measures including underpasses, viaducts, fencing, speed regulation, warning signage, animal detection systems, carcass removal and vegetation management.
The project proposes around 17 tunnels and 50 viaducts, with the viaducts having a cumulative length of 11.974 km. Seventeen minor bridges and two major bridges are also proposed for stretches involving wetlands, paddy fields and water bodies.
The Ministry has also directed NHAI to re-examine the tunnel design and explore whether the tunnel length can be reduced. The Ministry has directed NHAI to implement the mitigation measures recommended by KFRI.