The environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for the revised alignment of the unfinished by-pass road connecting Tiruchi-Madurai and Tiruchi-Karur national highways is expected by June, according to Collector K.Rajamani.
The section would form part of a semi-ring road that would come up connecting almost all major national highways around the city, but the project been dogged by delays due to various reasons.
The bypass road, which would run from Panchapur on NH45 via Thayanur to Jeeyapuram on NH 67, was halted midway in 2010 after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, while hearing a petition from farmers’ organisations, struck down the National Highways Authority of India’s plan to lay the road across Kothamangalam, Kallikudi and Punganur tanks.
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The project was taken up as part of widening of the NH 67 executed on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis by NHAI. The project ran into controversy over its alignment and land acquisition issues in 2006-07. The farmers had complained that the road if built across the tanks would affect irrigation and their livelihood.
The court had subsequently directed the NHAI to lay the bypass road without affecting irrigation sources.
Seeking to expedite the construction of the semi-ring road, the Collector convened a review meeting with senior officials of the NHAI and Revenue Department here on Friday. P.Kumar, Member of Parliament, also attended the meeting.
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Speaking at the meeting, Mr.Rajamani instructed the NHAI to expedite the construction of the by-pass stretch between Mathur on Tiruchi-Karaikudi NH and Panchapur on the Tiruchi-Madurai NH, which forms part of the other segment of the semi-ring road. Although the by-pass stretch between Asoor on Tiruchi-Thanjavur NH and Mathur has been completed, the work between Mathur and Panchapur has been progressing on a slow pace.
Mr.Rajamani said the total length of the by-pass road on this stretch was 25.60 km and the road had been laid for distance of 14.60 km. Work on the remaining 11 km would begin in right earnest by February and completed by December, he said.
He also disclosed that land acquisition for the semi-ring road had been completed in 17 of the 20 villages in Tiruchi East, Tiruchi West and Srirangaam taluks. The NHAI had sought a fresh environmental clearance from the Union Ministry for the revised alignment.
Once the environmental clearance was obtained, the project should be executed at a rapid pace, Mr.Rajamani told the officials and said that he would review the progress of the works every month.