Over 55% land acquired for NH widening

NHAI intends to complete four/six-laning of National Highway 66 by December 2020

The Pinarayi Vijayan government appears well on its way to achieve what used to be considered impossible by acquiring over 55% of the land needed for the four/six-laning of the National Highway 66 from Talapady in Kasaragod district to Kazhakuttam in Thiruvananthapuram district.

Overcoming several hurdles, including opposition from locals on the alignment, the Revenue Department could acquire 1,469 of the 2,629 hectares of land (55.87%) needed in 10 districts.

Of the land acquired, 3(A) notification under the National Highway Act of 1956 has been issued for 848 hectares in the Central Gazette and 3(D) notification for 274 hectares. The acquisition has come as a big relief for the State that is bracing for meeting the September deadline for acquiring the remaining 1,160 hectares.

On schedule

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the executing agency, has set December 2020 as the deadline for completing the NH 66 works with a Right of Way (RoW) of 45 m. A top government official told

The Hindu that the land acquisition is “on track and is moving as per schedule.”

The 3(A) notification with survey numbers and extent of land to be acquired in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvanthapuram districts has been issued.

The notification for Ernakulam district and one taluk in Thrissur will be published in July, NHAI sources said. The notification for the 172.8-km Cherthala-Kazhakuttam corridor was the last issued.

Compensation

The 3(D) notification and procedures to acquire land by removing the houses and other structures on the notified land will follow suit. This will be followed by the 3(G) notification to estimate the value of the land as per Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013.

The compensation to those being displaced will be awarded as per the recommendation of the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) and will be intimated to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The MoRTH has to pay roughly ₹6 crore for acquiring 1 km of land in Kerala compared to the ₹65 lakh in other States. The MoRTH is yet to respond to a government order of December 29, 2017, to provide more compensation to those being displaced than cited in Schedule 2 of the 2013 Act in view of the peculiar situation in the State.

Hybrid Annuity model

The Hybrid Annuity model, a mix of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) Annuity models, will be adopted by the MoRTH to execute the widening works, estimated to cost ₹26,000 crore, under the Union government’s Bharatmala Pariyojana scheme.