Greens oppose roads through forestland; locals call for completion of project
Even though the Public Works Department is seeking to speed up the work on the Hill Highway project, the delay in getting the approval to lay the road through forest regions is holding up the work.
The 1,251-km Hill Highway, which is being constructed at a cost of ₹3,500 crore, will pass through 13 of the 14 districts, the exception being Alappuzha. The PWD is facing major problems in places such as Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Muvattupuzha, Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, and Kasaragod where the proposed highway will cross forest land.
Five requests submitted by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) were rejected by the forest department stating that it could not approve the existing alignment, said Darlene Carmelita d’Cruz, Project Director of KRFB. The KRFB, entrusted with getting the approvals for the acquisition of the land and completion of the highway, had submitted 11 requests to the forest department. In the case of six applications, the DFOs concerned had completed visits to three sites. However, the forest department was yet to give the approval even these cases, she said. Ms d' Cruz said the alignment for the Hill Highway was prepared by the National Transportation and Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC). After objections were raised by the forest department in five areas, NATPAC had been asked to realign the project.