Kozhikode: The tunnel road linking Kozhikode district with Wayanad district will not be affected with any kind of intervention from the Union Government, said George M Thomas, MLA, of Tiruvambadi. The project, envisaged as an alternative for the Wayanad Ghat road, is being executed entirely with the KIIFB fund, he said, adding that the state government at no point sought a permission from the union government. The state is ready to bear the Rs 700 crore project on its own, he said.
On the present status of the project, Mr Thomas said that the Konkan Railway Corporation has just completed a survey and a DPR will be prepared soon. We need only the clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests just before making the tunnel, he added. The project procedures are entirely monitored by the chief minister and a feasibility study and socio-economic cost analysis are yet to be conducted, he pointed out. Mr George believes that the present reports on denial of permission by the union government to the tunnel road might be due to some confusion.
The state government has already cleared the proposal of Konkan Railway to prepare the DPR for an amount of `5 crore fee. The PWD had already earmarked `20 crore for the preparatory works of the project. The Konkan Railway Corporation has handed over a ‘Letter of Intent’ to state government expressing interest in taking over the project.
The tunnel road proposed to start from Anakkam-poyil in Kozhikode district will end in Kalladi, near Meppadi in Wayanad. Both the spots are of same height from sea level and the road also would be a level road. No forest stretches are necessary for the project as the road starts from a private land and ends in a private land. The cost per kilometre for the tunnel road is roughly estimated between `65 crore to `100 crore, according to experts.
