The government will sanction Rs.208 crore more for acquiring land on the Karamana-Pravachambalam stretch for the four-laning of the 29.2-km Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch of the National Highway-66 passing through the capital. This is in addition to the Rs.100 crore sanctioned by the State to acquire land, with which compensation was paid to 14 of the 232 families who handed over land on the Karamana-Pappanamcode stretch.
Chairing a high-level meeting at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced that administrative sanction would soon be given for the Rs.108-crore road works. The works would commence in December this year.
Mr. Chandy said the land needed on the Karamana-Karakkamandapam stretch for the widening of the NH 66 into a 30.2-metre four-way carriageway would be handed over to the Public Works Department by October 31.
The alignment of the Pravachambalam-Vazhimukku section, the survey of which had been completed, would be finalised soon. The Chief Minister announced concessions in building rules for those who were left with less than three cents of land after surrendering land for NH widening.
On June 11, Mr. Chandy had announced that the widening of the 29.2-km stretch would be included in the Rs.10,000-crore project in the State to develop 21 roads on an annuity basis, as funds allocated in the Budget would not be enough to complete the works.
Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor; Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar; Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju; Deputy Speaker N. Shaktan; R. Selvaraj, A. T. George, legislators; Secretary, PWD, T.O. Sooraj; and District Collector K.N. Satheesh attended the meeting.
