A Rs.10,000-crore project for the development of 22 roads, including the hill highway, in the State to overcome traffic problems was cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Briefing mediapersons after the Cabinet, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the Kerala Road Fund Board under the Public Works Department would take loans from funding agencies to develop the stretches on annuity scheme with the government giving the guarantee. No toll would be collected on these stretches, he said.
Mr. Chandy said the stretches, to be developed under a special package, had been selected as they did not fall under any ongoing project or scheme.
Conversion of the Kazhakuttam-Kesavadasapuram stretch in the capital city into a four-lane one; completion of the hill highway from Nandarapadavu to Kadukkara in Thiruvananthapuram; flyover at Edappal; bypasses at Kollam, Alappuzha, Thripunithara, Kozhikode, and Thalaserry-Mahe-Valapattnam; overbridge at Palarivattom, Vytilla, Kundanoor, and Appolo junction at Kalamaserry; Manjeri ring road; and outer ring road for Pathanamthitta city figure on the list.
The Chief Minister said Rs.1.5 crore had been sanctioned for implementing the decisions taken at Tuesday’s meeting to contain the viral fever epidemic. The amount would be used mainly for purchasing 250 fogging machines by the Health Department. Permissive sanction had been given to panchayats, municipalities, and the five city Corporations to buy fogging machines.
The Cabinet decided to give Rs.5 crore to the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) to overcome the losses incurred owing to market intervention to contain the prices in the State, Mr. Chandy said.
Three posts of professors, four of associate professors, and 15 of assistant professors were sanctioned for the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. As many as 87 posts were sanctioned for four ITIs as part of the project to upgrade them with private participation.
The Cabinet also decided to give 1.6 hectares of land in Chaliyar village in Nilambur to the Kerala State Electricity Board for the proposed Adiyanpara hydroelectric project.
