Revenue Minister K. Rajan will hold a crucial meeting here on Friday with elected representatives, including MLAs and MPs and District Collectors of Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode, on the proposed Greenfield Highway under the Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) that focuses on optimising the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country.
The proposed Kozhikode-Palakkad highway, which passes by the eco-sensitive zone of Silent Valley National Park, is opposed by various stakeholders. Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will attend the meeting that will discuss the progress of the joint measurement survey, land acquisition, and compensation demanded by various action committees.
The meeting assumes significance as various stakeholders have expressed reservations about the multi-crore project. An action committee had held a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier. Various organisations associated with the trading community had protested against the compensation finalised by the State government.
The project envisages the development of a four or six-lane greenfield highway starting from Ramanatukkara Junction in Kozhikode to Marutharode village in Palakkad.
The time taken for travel between Kozhikode and Palakkad through the existing route of 113 km is four hours during peak traffic. However, the proposed project with a length of 121 km is expected to reduce the travel time to two hours and interconnects national highways 544 and 66.
According to a pre-feasibility report for environment impact assessment, the project will have minimum impact on forest and human settlements. It has no tunnel and no forest along the alignment. This apart, it has minimum built-up land, and the cost will be less, it said.
Besides, the project will cater for traffic between Kozhikode city and the Calicut airport at Kondotty in Malappuram. The proposed alignment will provide high-speed connectivity to Kozhikode and Chennai ports. It will not only improve connectivity to 39 villages along the alignment but also improve connectivity to tourist destinations like Silent Valley, Nilambur, Wayanad, Mysuru, and Ooty.
