One of the long-pending infrastructure demands of the city is the western bypass road. Though the State Highways Department has prepared a fresh alignment for the road and the Government’s administrative sanction is awaited for it, property transaction and construction of buildings should not be permitted in the areas identified for the road, says secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause K. Kathirmathiyon.
In a representation to District Collector Archana Patnaik, he says that the earlier alignment for a 26-km road was to pass through Kuniamuthur, Chettipalayam, Perur, Veerakeralam, Thudiyalur, etc. When the alignment was prepared there were just 11 houses and later hundreds of buildings had come up on the proposed stretch.
Hence, a new alignment was prepared for 33-km road that would pass through Kuniamuthur, Madukkarai, Sundakamuthur, Theethipalayam, Madampatti, Perur, Pannimadai, and Narasimhanaikenpalayam. The alignment was approved at a meeting of the District Road Safety Committee in February this year.
Nearly 240 acres is identified for acquisition for the project. Though the State Government is yet to give its final approval for the project, details of the alignment should be shared with the public and the information should be displayed in a public forum. This will enable people to avoid investing in a property on the proposed stretch of the road. The local body, local planning authority and the registration department need to work jointly and ensure that property transactions do not take place on the new alignment.
Further, the lands already identified for the earlier alignment should be given back to the public as the road would not come up in those areas. Mr. Kathirmathiyon appealed to the District Collector to advise the departments concerned to inform the public about the project and ensure that the public do not invest in properties in the areas identified for the road project.
