After receiving around 2,000 objections to the proposed acquisition of land in the district for widening the Thuravoor-Oachira stretch of National Highway 66, the Revenue Department is set to hold public hearings to redress the grievances.
According to officials, the first such hearing will be held at Cherthala on April 23. “We have received some 2,000 objections. We will be conducting public hearings in Cherthala, Alappuzha and Haripad to try to address the apprehensions,” said an official on Thursday. Besides conducting the hearings, a high-level team would visit places identified as ‘sensitive’ in a bid to assuage the fears of the people in connection with land acquisition.
The officials said the procedures for land acquisition had commenced and alignment stones would be laid soon.
Notification issued
Earlier, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued a notification to set in motion the process of land acquisition.
As per the mandatory notification (dated February 15, under Section 3A of the National Highway Act, 1956), 126.6 hectares of government and private land will be acquired for the NH development in the district. The plan is to widen the 81.6-km stretch of the NH into four lanes of 45 metres.
A special unit under the Revenue Department has been entrusted with the land acquisition process. The officials said all procedures related to acquiring land should be completed within a year for issuing 3D notification (declaration of acquisition). Otherwise, the 3A notification would become invalid.
The land to be acquired as per the 3A notification is in the villages of Thuravoor South, Pattanakkad, Kadakkarappally, Vayalar East, Cherthala North, Cherthala South, Kokkothamangalam, Thanneermukkom North, Mararikulam North, Kanjikuzhi, Kalavoor, Pathirappally, Mannancherry, Komalapuram, Aryad South, Paravoor, Punnapra, Ambalappuzha, Purakkad, Thrikkunnapuzha, Karuvatta, Kumarapuram, Haripad, Karthikapally, Pallipad, Chingoli, Cheppad, Pathiyoor, Keerikkad, Kayamkulam, and Krishnapuram.
