THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A few contracting companies engaged in the six-lane work on NH 66 have been facing difficulty in procuring soil for the road works. One of them, a Hyderabad-based contracting company, had procured the requisite permission to get the soil and paid Rs 65 lakh as royalty towards the mining and geology department in Kasaragod.
However, they have not released the stacked soil citing opposition from the locals. The contracting company has since approached A P M Mohammed Hanish, principal secretary (industries), and also the Chief Minister to end the stalemate.
When it comes to National Highway road works, it’s the contracting agencies that always face the wrath of the local people when it comes to land acquisition or the insufficient compensation package.
On Tuesday, the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) regional office in Thiruvananthapuram had held a progress meeting to take stock of the work with the contracting companies’ representatives. Most of them are facing a slew of issues which include the various check posts in Tamil Nadu not issuing passes to transport raw materials to Kerala as well as the dearth of soil for road works, threatening the completion of the project on time. Ram Babu, vice president (road projects), Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), Hyderabad, is undertaking NH road works between Chengala and Neeleswaram (37.26 km) and Neeleswaram and Taliparamba (40.11 km). He told TNIE that without the help of the state government, his company would be unable to complete the NH works on time.
“We are scheduled to complete the work by December 2024. But we are doubtful of it as we are facing a severe dearth of soil. If we don’t complete the work on time, we may incur a penalty,” said Ram Babu. His Kerala coordinator V K Abdul Nisar told TNIE that the delay in procuring the soil was due to the protest from the local people citing that they were excavating the soil. “We require only the stacked up soil for our road works and we are not demanding any new excavation. Stacked up soil will not cause any environmental issues,” says Abdul Nisar.
Meanwhile, K K Vijaya, a geologist based in Kasaragod’s mining and geology department, told TNIE that once the contracting company started taking soil from the allowed area in Kasaragod, rocks were found underneath it. This led the local people to create a stir forcing the department to stop them from taking soil.
“We understand that the NHAI’s work cannot be stopped and there should be a way out to resolve the crisis. If we get a new application from the contracting company, we will look for alternative arrangements,” said Vijaya.
Vishwa Samudra Engineering Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad, which has taken up contracts on Kollam bypass, among others, is also on the same boat. Rajasekharan Ramanujam, vice president (projects), said other hindrances they face include a demand from the KSEB on making additional modifications.