Dispute erupts over Kollam-Theni NH widening plan
In a statement issued here on Thursday, Mr. Cherian said that it would have been possible to prepare an effective plan without causing the loss of around 3,000 houses, shops, places of worship, and other structures along both sides of the 16-kilometre stretch from Kollakadavu to Aanjilichuvadu, and further up to Pravinkoodu on MC Road.
He said the new highway was planned to be 24 metres wide, twice the width of the existing road. 'The new alignment should be designed in a way that does not cause inconvenience to the public,' the Minister said. A detailed complaint had already been submitted to the National Highways Authority of India, he added.
Meanwhile, Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, has criticised Mr. Cherian's stance against the 'widening of the Kollam-Theni National Highway 183 into a four-lane road.' In a statement issued on Friday, Mr. Suresh said that it was due to his intervention that a decision was made to widen the existing road, which requires minimal land acquisition. 'This decision has the full support of both the Central and State governments. The statements made by Minister Saji Cherian are intended solely to create confusion among the public,' Mr. Suresh said.
The Mavelikara MP said the decision to widen the road was taken after conducting various studies. 'Widening the road is the most suitable option for the national highway development. Accordingly, the alignment was approved, the 3A Gazette Notification for land acquisition was published, and the project cost is currently under consideration by the Finance Committee,' he said.
Mr. Suresh said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State government held a favourable stance on the Kollam-Theni National Highway development. Mr. Cherian has taken a different position, possibly due to vested interests, he alleged.
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The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Dispute erupts over Kollam-Theni NH widening plan
Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian has demanded an urgent review of the proposed alignment for the widening of the Kollam-Theni National Highway (NH) 183. In a statement issued here on Thursday, Mr. Cherian said that it would have been possible to prepare an effective plan without causing the loss of around 3,000 houses, shops, places of worship, and other structures along both sides of the 16-kilometre stretch from Kollakadavu to Aanjilichuvadu, and further up to Pravinkoodu on MC Road. He said the new highway was planned to be 24 metres wide, twice the width of the existing road. 'The new alignment should be designed in a way that does not cause inconvenience to the public,' the Minister said. A detailed complaint had already been submitted to the National Highways Authority of India, he added. Meanwhile, Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, has criticised Mr. Cherian's stance against the 'widening of the Kollam-Theni National Highway 183 into a four-lane road.' In a statement issued on Friday, Mr. Suresh said that it was due to his intervention that a decision was made to widen the existing road, which requires minimal land acquisition. 'This decision has the full support of both the Central and State governments. The statements made by Minister Saji Cherian are intended solely to create confusion among the public,' Mr. Suresh said. The Mavelikara MP said the decision to widen the road was taken after conducting various studies. 'Widening the road is the most suitable option for the national highway development. Accordingly, the alignment was approved, the 3A Gazette Notification for land acquisition was published, and the project cost is currently under consideration by the Finance Committee,' he said. Mr. Suresh said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State government held a favourable stance on the Kollam-Theni National Highway development. Mr. Cherian has taken a different position, possibly due to vested interests, he alleged.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
NHAI to extend 6 laning of NH-65 till Vijayawada West bypass
Vijayawada: In some good news for commuters traveling on the Vijayawada–Hyderabad national highway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has agreed to take up six-laning of NH-65 stretch up to the Vijayawada West Bypass near Gollapudi, amending its earlier decision to widen the road only up to the Amaravati Outer Ring Road (ORR) alignment. Confirming the development, Union minister for road transport and highways sent a written communication to Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni) wherein he informed the MP about the extension of the six-laning of the national highway from Hyderabad Regional Ring Road (HRRR) to Vijayawada West Bypass (i.e., from KM 40 to KM 266) to a total length of 226 kilometres instead of ending it at Amaravati ORR (i.e., up to KM 238) as earlier planned. Nitin Gadkari mentioned that the NHAI initially proposed to take up the six-laning of the NH-65 from KM 40 to KM 266 to avoid any additional land acquisition burden. However, following a public consultation held on June 13 under the chairmanship of Chinni, all stakeholders stressed the need for extending the six-laning of the national highway up to West Bypass near Gollapudi. "Accordingly, the DPR consultant has been directed to prepare the alignment and DPR for the entire stretch," Gadkari replied, quoting Chinni's letter to him on June 19. "The DPR works for the six-laning of Vijayawada - Hyderabad national highway are expected to be completed by August end. Once the DPR is received, it would be sent to the NHAI Delhi office following which tenders will be floated and widening works will commence," NHAI AP regional manager RK Singh told TOI. The six-laning of the NH-65 is expected to significantly reduce the travel time between the two capital cities of the Telugu states, offering a swift and hassle-free travel experience for commuters on the stretch.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
NHAI pauses fund raise; to focus on improving BOT model to entice investors, says MoS Harsh Malhotra, ETInfra
NEW DELHI: Alarming debt levels have led the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to pause fund raise and the high Advt Advt way developer is refining the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Model to attract investors and lighten its balance sheet, a senior government official has said.'We have been able to cut down about ₹85,700 crore of NHAI debt and we are improvising the BOT Model so that the debt level further comes down. Additionally, we have decided not to raise further loans. The roads and highways which have already been constructed, we have plans to remonetise them,' said Harsh Malhotra, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, in an interview to ET to extensive road development undertaken by NHAI primarily through borrowings, the authority's debt had risen to about ₹3.4 lakh crore, raising concerns about implications of massive debt on its a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Model, a private developer is responsible for financing, building and operating a project for a specific concession period in which developer is allowed to recover the development investments by way of user charges or tolls charged. Under such a model, the financial burden on the government is limited. However, the model fell out of favour due to land acquisitions, financial risks faced by private to lukewarm response to BOT Model, in the past several years, the government has resorted to Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Model of road development, in which the government partly or fully takes up the financial highlighted that the next phase of road development by the central government will be focused on developing 40,000 km of high-speed corridors which will enable vehicle speed of up to 120 km/ to the NHAI, the country has about 63 lakh km of road network, of which 1.46 lakh km are national highways on which 50 per cent of India's traffic is transported.'By 2034, development of almost 40,000 km of high-speed corridors is being aimed which can enable vehicles to run at a speed of 100 km/hr to up to 120 km/hr. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' vision for 2047 envisages interstate connectivity and economic corridors which connect states and industrial corridors. Highway speed along with economic growth is the vision of the government,' said per the ministry, as of February 2025, 6,669 km length of high speed greenfield corridors have been awarded with construction completed for 4,610 of the major ongoing projects is the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which when completed is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities from 32 hours to about 12 hours.'The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is being constructed at a cost of ₹12,500 crore and once completed, it will enable the travel between the cities within 12 hours and will have amenities for travelers after every 100 km,' said from high-speed corridors, the ministry is also focused on developing bypasses or ring roads around major Indian cities in order to enable smooth movement of traffic.'A quadrilateral highway connecting the cities of Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur is being constructed. The road will touch the cultural sites. In the future, for all major cities such as Indore, Guwahati and others, bypasses or ring roads are being planned,' said who is a member of Parliament from Delhi, outlined that in order to smoothen the traffic to and from Delhi International Airport, the ministry has proposed the development of a 7-km long underground tunnel.'We have proposed constructing a 7 km long tunnel linking Delhi's Nelson Mandela Road with Urban Extension Road-II in order to smoothen the traffic flow to and from Delhi International Airport,' said Malhotra, adding that several road development projects are underway which will ensure traffic from neighbouring states do not enter the capital and congest the NHAI, a 76 km long Urban Extension Road-II is also being developed, which will divert heavy traffic from neighbouring states away from the national capital. By , ETInfra
