THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even after completing the social impact assessment (SIA) study for the proposed flyover at Peroorkada, the land acquisition proceedings are moving at a snail’s pace. Once completed, the flyover will reduce the bottleneck at the junction which is an intersection of four busy roads.
Sources said that some landowners are reluctant to surrender land for the flyover. Hence it will take at least six more months to complete the land acquisition proceedings. A public hearing was held three months ago for land acquisition in which 150 owners participated.
The hearing evoked mixed reactions from the landowners, as some favoured it while others opposed the move to acquire their land. In 2021, the managing director of Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RBDCK) sought sanction for the acquisition of 160.65 acres of land in Peroorkada and Kudappanakunnu villages for the construction of the flyover.
The foundation stone for the project was laid in November 2021 by Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas.
The 874-m-long, two-lane flyover will be built spending Rs 55.42 crore with KIIFB assistance. However, the total cost of the project, including land acquisition, is expected to come to around Rs 106.76 crore. It will be the second major flyover in the city after the Bakery Junction flyover. MLA V K Prasanth, who played a major role in initiating the project, told TNIE that the work on the flyover is likely to start after six months as the land acquisition proceedings are yet to begin.
He said that the SIA report has suggested providing proper compensation to all landowners who will be affected by the project.
“The district collector has said that 11(1) notification, which is a major step towards land acquisition, will be issued within two days. Once the notification is issued, the acquisition proceedings will gather momentum. Following this, the valuation and survey proceedings will be conducted. It will take six more months. Then a 19(1) notification will be issued for acquiring land and distributing compensation to land owners. Once this is completed, we can float tenders. So we expect to start the construction after six months,” said Prasanth.
Unlike other junctions in the city, there are mainly four roads intersecting at the junction, including the road to Nedumangad and Kudappanakunnu. This creates traffic congestion during peak hours which affects commuters and pedestrians alike.
Though the flyover has been a long-pending dream, the previous LDF government had proposed an underpass instead of a flyover. Later, the plan was dropped as the preliminary study conducted by RBDCK found that there were many drinking water pipelines underneath. Following this, the government came up with a new proposal. The flyover will begin near Lourde church at Peroorkada and end near St Jude’s church at Vazhayila.
LA proceedings for the Pattom flyover completed
The land acquisition proceedings for the proposed flyover at Pattom have been completed. The compensation has been given to landowners. However, the tender for the project is yet to be floated due to the delay in the merger of KMRL and Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd (KRTL), said Prasanth.