The NAD land issue was a major challenge to the development of Seaport-Airport Road over the past 20 years.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

The government has sanctioned ₹32.26 crore for the extension of Seaport-Airport Road that includes the price for the acquisition of 2.49 hectares from the Naval Armament Depot (NAD).

Besides the ₹23.11 crore price of the land fixed by the Ministry of Defence, the government allotted ₹8.16 crore for the widening NAD-Thorappu Road and ₹99.43 lakh for the construction of compound wall.

The agreement for handing over the NAD land was signed in the presence of Industries Minister P. Rajeeve in January, according to a communication.

The land price will be handed over to the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), which is the implementing agency of the Seaport-Airport Road extension. The release said that the NAD land issue was a major challenge to the development of Seaport-Airport Road over the past 20 years. The tender proceedings will be initiated soon after handing over the price of the land.

The process of depositing the price of the land owned by HMT for the HMT-NAD stretch is in its final stage. The Supreme Court had, in an earlier interim order, permitted the handing over of 1.63 hectares in the possession of HMT to the RBDCK to execute the proposed extension project after the agency deposited the price for acquiring the land.

The Kerala High Court had earlier ruled that the State government owned the land. The interim order of the apex court came on an appeal that HMT filed before it. The compensation amount was arrived at based on the base price of the land in 2014.

According to the agreement with the NAD, HMT-NAD Road will be re-constructed at a width of 5.5 metres. The follow-up measures will be initiated without delay. Electric posts, transformers, and telephone posts have to be relocated as part of the widening of HMT-NAD Thorappu Road. New traffic signal points will also be set up. The Minister said that the Seaport-Airport Road development would be completed by according a key flagship project status to it.