SC directs HMT to transfer land for the Kochi Seaport-Airport Road construction
The Supreme Court’s ruling to transfer HMT-owned property to the Roads and Bridges building Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) for road construction has accelerated the long-overdue building of road infrastructure and the extension of Seaport-Airport Road.
For more than 20 years, the purchase of HMT’s property has posed a significant barrier to the growth of Seaport-Airport. It is necessary to purchase 1.632 hectares of HMT property in order to build roads. A High Court decision states that the state government owns the property. The temporary decree resulted from an appeal against the High Court decision that HMT filed with the Supreme Court.
The decision to buy the property was made by Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K Rajan, and Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas. They obtained consent from the Supreme Court and obtained funds from a nationalized bank for the acquisition. The decision was made at a high-level ministerial conference that took place two weeks ago in Thiruvananthapuram.
Rejecting HMT’s desire to fix it at 2024 prices, the Supreme Court ruled that the amount to be set should be based on a 2014 pricing report. According to Minister Rajeeve, the money must be put in the High Court Registrar’s name under a Supreme Court directive.
The President signed a decree last week designating 2.4967 hectares of NAD property for the building of Seaport-Airport Road. The projected Thrikakkara North Village site is now being turned over to the RBDCK so that building may begin. According to Rajeeve, RBDCK would provide the Union Ministry of Defence Rs 23.06 crore as the land price.
In compliance with the NAD agreement, the land will be provided in return for a 5.5 m wide reconstruction of the HMT-NAD Rad. The minister said that building would shortly start after a significant obstacle was removed.
In accordance with the minister’s directives, the KIIFB board has agreed to allot an extra Rs 722.04 crore for the construction of the NAD-Mahilalayam reach. The updated estimate serves as the foundation for the approved sum.
The Bharata Mata College-Collectorate Road and the Infopark-Irumpanam Road are being widened as part of the Seaport-Airport Road project.
