The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee has welcomed the State government’s decision to sanction ₹134.5 crore for the road widening project.
However, the committee leaders, including historian M.G.S. Narayanan and Gandhian Thayat Balan, said the allotted funds should be immediately transferred to the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). The funds should also be transferred to landowners who had agreed to hand over title deeds for the project.
Committee working president Mathew Kattikkana and general secretary M.P. Vasudevan said the government should start the process of acquiring the required land under the Land Acquisition Act. Tenders for widening the road to a four-lane carriageway could be started only after acquiring the land, they said.
The committee members also appealed to the government to avoid delay in releasing funds. Previously, when funds were sanctioned, they either lapsed or were delayed, they said.
Earlier, the committee members had accused A. Pradeepkumar, MLA, of neglecting the project in the second phase of the Kozhikode City Road Improvement Project. Mr. Pradeepkumar had clarified through a statement of the Public Works Department (PWD) on January 15 that the government had accorded sanction for purchase of land for the project.
The PWD said the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu corridor was one of the seven projects included in the first phase of the Kozhikode City Road Improvement Project.
KRFB Chief Executive Officer had requested the release of the third and final allotment from the totally sanctioned amount of ₹234.5 crore. About ₹100 crore for land acquisition was approved earlier.
