The Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) is going ahead with tender proceedings for the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road project even though the land acquisition process is yet to be completed.
The new tender is being floated on the basis of the revised detailed project report (DPR) prepared by the design wing of the Public Works Department (PWD). The Chief Executive Officer of KRFB has submitted a revised estimate to the government based on which a fresh administrative sanction of ₹131.21 crore was issued recently.
Meanwhile, around 45 cents in four villages remain to be acquired for road development. The 8.24-km-long Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road is being widened to 24 metres, for which 6.87 hectares were acquired by the PWD. Of the 12 persons in four villages whose lands have not been acquired, three have approached the High Court against the acquisition and procured an injunction order while nine were not included in the rehabilitation package. The latter may be acquired and the parties will be compensated as soon as the Land Revenue Commissioner orders it. However, the status of the three plots on which the injunction orders have been issued is in limbo. The land acquisition wing has sought legal advice in the matter and expects to complete the acquisition before the tender proceedings are completed.
The development of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road has been a 15-year-old demand. A road action committee headed by historian M.G.S. Narayanan has fought for the development despite odds as a result of which the project came into being. Even after fund allotment for acquisition, the project was very slow, resulting in several protests in the city.
