The Revenue Department recently transferred ownership of the corridor, previously held by the Kochi Corporation, to the Public Works Department (PWD) to facilitate its development into a four-lane, 22-meter-wide road in accordance with Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) standards.

At the meeting, it was decided to complete the laying of boundary stones for land acquisition by the first week of February. Delays in this process were attributed to minor adjustments in the road alignment to comply with KIIFB norms. Initial land acquisition procedures under the 11(1) notification will commence in April.

The KIIFB has sanctioned Rs 1.50 billion for acquiring land to develop the 3.70-km corridor, which will provide a direct link between MG Road and the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass. The corridor will start near Padma Junction and end at Chakkaraparambu. The detailed project report, including the 22-metre-wide road and a parallel bridge to Pullepady Bridge, had been approved earlier.

Officials at the meeting emphasized the need to expedite land acquisition and related processes to accelerate the execution of this long-pending project, which has been in planning for over three decades. The meeting also reviewed progress on other delayed infrastructure projects, including overbridges at Atlantis, Vaduthala, and Perandoor-Vaduthala, where land acquisition has already been completed. Relevant agencies were instructed to fast-track the commencement of these projects.

News source: The Hindu