The Public Works Department (PWD) will be the major beneficiary of the negotiated purchase of land to be initiated by District Collectors to overcome the delay in land acquisition and speedily complete development projects.
The 117 bridges constructed across the State under various wings of the PWD and Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd. (RBDCK) will now be completed in 400 days.
The development projects initiated under Mission 676 of the United Democratic Front government will also be the beneficiaries of the negotiated land purchase, which has been given the nod by the Cabinet.
The negotiated purchase will be adopted till relevant rules are framed under the Central Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Land acquisition
The State is yet to form rules although the Act came into force on January 1, 2014, and this has led to inordinate delay in land acquisition proceedings.
Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said the measure was a practical approach to complete sanctioned projects in a time-bound manner to avoid cost escalation.
Several bridges had been completed, but these could not be commissioned as land acquisition for the approach road had been stalled.
The Minister said the negotiated purchase by the Collectors would solve the problem and help the PWD throw open the bridges to the public.
Of the 117 bridges, 38 are in the north circle, 28 in the central circle, and 25 in the south circle of the PWD National Highway (NH) wing. The RBDCK has six bridges in various phases of construction, the NH wing eight, the World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project 10, and the Kerala Road Fund Board 2.
By authorising the District Collectors, the government is trying to complete the 117 bridges and other key projects under the PWD before its tenure ends. Official sources said the land acquisition for the widening of the Kazhakuttam-Kesavadasapuram stretch in the capital city for the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) project will not be under the new negotiated purchase scheme.
117 bridges being built under PWD and RBDCK
Projects were hit by delay in land acquisition
