Acquisition woes delay National Highway widening

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As PWD and Revenue departments and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) remain at loggerheads over 45-metre width of NH 17 and NH 47, World Bank consultant and team leader of land acquisition was here to hold talks with government officials.

Mridula Singh, senior social specialist, held talks with chief secretary Jiji Thomson and Revenue principal secretary Dr Vishwas Mehta on the way forward.

Though Revenue department framed rules as per Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RR) package, law department officials have not included the compensation details, prompting the former to seek the opinion of Advocate General.

Ms. Singh was here to coordinate efforts to solve land issues of the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) Phase-II.

KSTP-II project envisages the upgradation of 363 km of state highways and major district roads, development of model safe corridors of 80 km and institutional strengthening of the PWD.

The total project cost is US $ 445 million out of which $216mn is WB’s loan assistance. The project implementation period is 2013 to 2018.

“Ms. Singh will be coordinating the land acquisition issues in the light of the ordinance on land acquisition which is being re-promulgated for the second time soon after the Parliament’s budget session ends on May 13,” a top PWD official told DC.

Meanwhile, a top revenue department official in the rank of joint secretary told DC that after the rules were formed by them, they had put them before the public to hear their grievances.

Ms. Singh had prepared a comprehensive draft which the state government would have to incorporate if any points have been left out.

But another senior revenue official confirmed to DC that certain points which were incorporated in the draft after hearing the woes of the public have been sidelined by the law department.

“Law department has not included the compensation details which are very crucial. If it’s not there, we would have to keep on clarifying each land acquisition which can bring more headaches to the government. So we have sought the opinion of the Advocate General and is awaiting his legal clearance,” said a revenue department official.