Kerala government to allocate fund for Thammanam-Pulleppady road project

Decision taken at high-level meeting in Thiruvananthapuram

The State government has decided to finance the Thammanam-Pulleppady road widening project through the Road Fund Board.

A decision with regard to allocating funds for the project in the next financial year was taken during a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Public Works Minister V.K. Ibrahim Kunju; Hibi Eden, MLA; District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam, Mayor Tony Chammany and representatives of the Kochi Metro Rail project were among those who attended the meeting.

The issue of funding the project had been hanging fire for some time.  “The State government has directed the Road Fund Board to prepare one major road project from each of the districts for the next fiscal. Provisions have been made to include the Thammanam-Pulleppady stretch among this,” said Hibi Eden, MLA, in an official statement.

During the meeting, it was also decided to expedite the acquisition of land between the Kathrikadavau Junction and the Stadium Link Road. This will be carried out using a fund of Rs.25 crore sanctioned by the State government.

BOT system

Last month, the State government had come up with yet another proposal to develop the stretch under the Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) system. This, however, was dropped in the wake of objections raised from different quarters. 

As per official estimates, about 4.0163 hectares of land would have to be acquired for developing it into a 22-metre wide stretch. The total cost of land acquisition and construction is estimated to be around Rs.263 crore. In May, 2014, a council meeting of the Kochi Corporation had requested the State government to take over the road from the local body’s custody. The issue came up for a discussion during a meeting convened by the Chief Minister three months later in connection with the Kochi metro rail project.

Special Correspondent writes from Thiruvananthapuram:

The Stadium Link-Thammanam Road, which is used as an alternative corridor after the barricading of two roads owing to Kochi metro works, will be made motorable soon.

A sum of Rs.76 crore is needed for acquiring land from Kathrikadavu Junction to the stadium and more funds would be made available in the next budget for road development.