The Revenue Department has extended the deadline for eviction of shopkeepers at Malaparamba junction in the city by a week.
The drive is in connection with the acquisition of land for the widening of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road on National Highway 212 (NH 212). Shop owners have been told vacate before 11 a.m. on May 18. The clearing of encroachments along the wayside would continue, officials said.
The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Development Evictees’ Collective had approached District Collector N. Prasanth demanding more time to vacate the spot.
Earlier, notices had been served on the shop keepers to vacate before 11 a.m. on May 11. The department wanted to implement the rehabilitation package before the eviction, an official said.
Already the department had carried out the verification of documents of plots in connection with the acquisition of land. Subsequently, agreements were also signed with landowners.
The land rates had been fixed by the government at the District-Level Purchase Committee (DLPC) and it was endorsed by the State-Level Empowered Committee (SLEC). The properties of those who refused to hand over their land would be taken over by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.
Last month, the Revenue Department had secured a sum of Rs.25 crore as the first tranche of the funds. It had been decided to use the amount to acquire land at some of the narrowest stretches along the 8.4-km Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu stretch of NH 212.
The IQRAA Hospital - ADM Bungalow stretch had been identified for this. In fact, the entire stretch from Malaparamba Junction to the Civil Station is a bottleneck even during non-peak hours. As much as Rs.17 crore would be required to improve the junction at Malaparamba, an intersection of Highways 17 and 212.
