THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The development of Vazhayila-Nedumangad road has taken one step closer as the land acquisition is likely to begin soon with the state government issuing an order last week. The revenue wing of the district administration will also issue the land acquisition notification soon.
Earlier, a six-member committee was constituted to draw up a new alignment and submitted its report based on the social impact assessment (SIA) study to the state government for approval. Sources said the government has given the approval for the same.
The widening of the road at Vazhayila near Peroorkada and Pazhakutty near Nedumangad has been a long-pending demand as the stretch is a part of Thiruvananthapuram-Tenkasi inter-state highway. Speaking to TNIE, the Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil, who took a special interest in this project, said the Vazhayila-Nedumangad road will soon be a reality as the revenue secretary has issued an order to expedite land acquisition based on a favourable report from the district collector.
“The project had objections from some quarters in the past regarding the alignment. However, we will go with the existing alignment. The committee formed for the purpose also found that the road development could happen only with the present alignment. So all the hurdles are over and the government is going ahead with the project in a speedy manner,” Anil said.
The land will be acquired based on the LARR rules in 2013 and the notification will be issued soon, sources in the revenue department said. As per the report, the committee had earlier made it clear that there is no scope for a new alignment as the existing alignment was finalised based on the specifications of the Indian Road Congress.
The committee had also put forth several suggestions and recommendations to ensure limited displacement of people during land acquisition. The report stated that land parcels owned by schools, temples, churches and mosques need to be acquired for the existing alignment and 874 buildings, both commercial and residential, may be affected.
The committee had also held discussions with landowners to allay their apprehensions over land acquisition. As per the initial report of the committee, the landowners’ suggestion was to acquire more land from the plot owned by the Kerala Water Authority on one side of the stretch in Karakulam panchayat to avoid land acquisition in the densely populated region on the other side. The committee members, including Karakulam panchayat vice-president, could allay the fears of landowners by making minor changes in the original alignment.
The committee was constituted by the state government in October last year. The widening of the 11.8-km stretch from Vazhayila to Pazhakutty near Nedumangad is likely to reduce travel time and traffic congestion from the city to Nedumangad.
KIIFB is the funding agency and Kerala Road Fund Board is the implementing agency. The government has sanctioned Rs 338.53 crore for the project. Of these, Rs 279.31 crore will be spent for road work and Rs 59.22 crore for land acquisition.