MAHE: Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy will hold a meeting with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials over the land acquisition process for the Thalassery-Mahe bypass project on August 31. The four-decade-old project has finally started to pick up momentum with the NHAI floating a tender for work in March. However, the acquisition process in Mahe has halted with the NHAI not agreeing to the value fixed by the district purchase committee for the land.
The 17.8-km road from Muzhappilangad to Azhiyoor with 45-metre width is expected to reduce traffic snarls in Thalassery and Mahe in a big way and provide better connectivity on the Kannur-Kozhikode stretch. Of the total distance, the land has already been acquired in the 12 km from Muzhappilangad to Paral by the Kerala state government. The land acquisition process needs to be completed in Chokli, Mahe and Azhiyoor. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Mahe MLA Dr Ramachandran said that the state government had demanded that NHAI send competent officials who have the power to take decisions on the issue for the meeting.
“The issue of the bypass has become a complicated one and NHAI officials are not seeing it in the right perspective. For almost three decades nothing happened in the acquisition. Also, we have different values for land assessed by different bodies in addition to a court case over it. Now that the Chief Minister has taken keen interest in solving the disputes, we are hoping that an amicable solution would come up in the meeting,” he added. Apart from NHAI representatives, various political party and action committee representatives may attend the meeting.
