A two-week deadline has been set to disburse the ₹142 crore compensation to those who surrendered land for the Reach II of the four-laning of the 29.2-km Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch of the National Highway 66 passing through the capital.
District Collector S. Venkatesapathy has also given a two-week deadline to Revenue officials to handover the acquired land to the Public Works Department (PWD) NH wing. At a review meeting of the NH four-laning works here on Monday, the Collector asked the officials to expedite the demolition of the structures on the acquired land. March 31 was fixed as the deadline for removing the structures. It was also decided to simultaneously commence tender process.
The land needed from Pravachambalam to Vedivachankovil has already been handed over to the PWD, Deputy Collector Sam L. Sone said. The land on the 1.5 km stretch up to Balaramapuram on the 6.5-km Pravachambalam-Vazhimukku corridor of Reach II will be handed over by March.
Already, ₹125 crore compensation had been paid to those who parted with land in Reach II. The balance ₹142 crore will be paid in two instalments. The first instalment of ₹29 crore will be paid this week.
Tender formalities
The PWD (NH) wing officials said the tender formalities from Pravachambalam to Ayanimoodu had been completed already. The buildings and other structures on the stretch will be removed within two weeks. The tender formalities for the stretch from Ayanimoodu to Vedivachankovil will be completed by March, the meeting was informed.
The Social Impact Study for the corridor from Balaramapuram to Vazhimukku is on, according to Special Unit Tahsildar S.L. Sajikumar.
The four-laned stretch will be 30.2-m wide with a 3.5-m median to accommodate the Mass Rapid Transport System up to Neyyattinkara. It will have a 2.6-metre footpath as in Reach I.
The PWD was also under pressure for the delay in taking up the work on Reach II even after commissioning the 5.5-km Reach I from Karamana to Pravachambalam.
