Kerala CM meets Gadkari to discuss National Highway development

PTI, Dec 7, 2024, 8:22 AM IST

Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held talks with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi, where they discussed the progress of national highway development in the state.

State Public Works and Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas also attended the meeting, held at Gadkari’s residential office on Akbar Road.

Discussions focused on the progress of National Highway 66, which spans from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram. The highway is being upgraded to a six-lane road with a width of 45 metres, the release said.

Riyas expressed hope that the development work on this highway would be largely completed by December 2025.

“This project represents the realisation of a long-cherished dream of Malayalees worldwide,” he said.

The minister noted that it was the Vijayan-led government that turned a stalled project into reality.

For the first time in history, a state arranged funds to acquire land for national highway development and provided them to the central government, he said.

“Rs 5,580 crore has been spent on this so far. Currently, the progress of construction work on National Highway 66 is being reviewed every week,” Riyas said.

During the meeting with the Union Minister, the Chief Minister presented long-term road development plans.

“Proposals for 17 roads with a 20-year vision were submitted, to which the Union Minister responded positively,” the release said.

The CM urged the central government to allocate more projects for Kerala’s future road development.

He assured that matters related to land acquisition and development for national highways would be finalised in the state cabinet meeting.

“The Union Minister assured approval for the revised alignments of seven delayed projects caused by various reasons,” the release said.

These seven projects span a total length of 460 kilometres, it added.

It further stated that Gadkari approved the development of the Punalur Bypass, which faces severe traffic congestion during the Sabarimala season.

The meeting also decided to initiate steps for constructing a nine-kilometre elevated road to Kozhikode airport, while discussions included plans to develop the road to Kannur airport, the release added.