A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Wednesday decided to go ahead with the development of National Highway (NH) stretches in the State without further land acquisition.
Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said the consensus at the meeting was that the NH stretches should be developed to 30 metres on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
A final decision in this regard would be taken at the next meeting of the United Democratic Front.
The Chief Minister said the decision was practical as the land acquisition, which began in 2009, had not reached anywhere. If the State insisted on a 45-metre carriageway for the NHs, it would need another 15 years for developing them.
As per the blueprint, first phase development will be taken up in 260 km. The stretch will have a three-metre median for elevated path in the future and a two-and-a-half-metre footpath on both sides of the carriageway. Land is available in the 169-km NH-66 stretch from Cherthala to Kazhakuttam for developing a 30-metre carriageway, the meeting was told.
Minister for Finance K.M. Mani, Minister for Revenue Adoor Prakash, Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhusan, Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary T.O. Sooraj, and top officials of the Revenue department and the PWD attended the meeting.
