Chennai-Salem green expressway corridor: Mountains will not be smashed says BJP

Chennai: Asserting that the Chennai-Salem green expressway corridor will be beneficial to Tamil Nadu, Union minister for road transport & highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari has appealed to people not to be apprehensive of the project.

Also, the government would take up a campaign to create awareness among the people on the project. “The minister has assured that no mountain will be smashed and that the project would put Tamil Nadu on the road to prosperity,” BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan who had called on the Union minister in New Delhi, said. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, she said during her meeting, Mr Gadkari had explained about the project, and said that it would benefit people.

“He informed that awareness would be created among the people about the proposed corridor project and that the land owners would be adequately compensated. Grievances, if any, would be examined, Mr Gadkari had promised and appealed to the people not be apprehensive of the project,” the BJP president said.

Averring that that opposition parties were needlessly criticising the BJP government at the centre and were creating confusion among people, Dr Tamilisai said the government would weigh the pros and cons before announcing any project. “The Centre will never implement any project in haste,” she said and added those who misconstrued the project now would later on realise its benefits.

She explained that none of the five mountains on the project route would be smashed or damaged. Only a tunnel less than three km in length would be dug up in one of the hills near Salem bypass in order to protect about 50,000 habitations. This is the perfect way to preserve ecology and ecosystem. Similar strategy has been adopted to construct highways in other parts of country.