A committee with the Chief Secretary as chairman will be set up for examining the proposed alignment of sensitive areas, including places for worship, for widening the National Highway 66 with a 45-metre right of way (RoW).
The secretaries of the Public Works Department, Revenue, Local-Self Government, and the Law Department, Chief Engineer (National Highway), and a representative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are the other members on the committee.
The move follows the Cabinet nod to go ahead with the four-laning of the NH 66 with a 45-metre RoW following a letter from the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways that the RoW cannot be reduced and 80 per cent of the land should be acquired and transferred.
Official sources told The Hindu that District Collectors had been asked to acquire the required land as per the alignment that had already been fixed.
The stipulations notified by the government on November 15, 2011, would be followed while fixing compensation. The State will approach the Centre to cancel the notifications on February 5 and August 14 this year de-notifying the NH stretches in the State from the National Highway Development Project.
Of the 829 km of NH 66 identified for widening in 2001 by the National Highway Authority of India, 636 km from Thalapady to Edapally and Cherthala to Kazhakuttam has to be developed into four-lane.
The government has to acquire 1,329 hectares from Thalapady on the Kerala-Karnataka border to Edapally and from Cherthala to Kazhakuttam.
In addition, another 95.91 hectares need to be acquired for developing the 43 km Kazhakuttam- Inchivila stretch into four-lane.
A total of 303.27 hectares need to be acquired for the 130-km Thalapady-Kannur stretch, 248.58 hectares for the 82-km Kannur- Vengalam stretch, 143.19 hectares for the Vengalam- Kuttipuram section, and 282.2 hectares for the Kuttipuram- Edapally stretch.
As much as 114 hectares of land need to be acquired for widening the 86-km stretch from Cherthala to Oachira and 142 hectares for the 86.9-km Oachira- Kazhakuttam stretch.
