Since there are no side lanes, the traffic conditions on the Tiruchi-Thanjavur national highway are chaotic. | Photo: M. Moorthy
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not yet taken a decision on whether to construct service roads or an elevated highway on the urban stretch of the Tiruchi-Thanjavur national highway between Old Palpannai and Thuvakudi.
This was stated by the NHAI Project Director, Thanjavur, in a recent response to a query under the Right to Information Act by S. Ragunathan, Secretary, Tiruchi-Thanjai NH67 Salai Virivakka Panikalal Bathikapaduvor Kootammaippu (Association of People Affected by Widening of Tiruchi-Thanjavur Highway).
Responding to a series of questions from Mr Ragunathan, the project director said that a consultant appointed to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for construction of an elevated corridor had submitted the ‘initial’ and ‘feasibility’ reports. Meanwhile, a review meeting was held in August last year under the chairmanship of the Minister for Municipal Administration where the possibility of constructing a service road was discussed. However, no decision has been taken yet, the NHAI’s reply said.
The NHAI official also confirmed that no cost estimate had been prepared for the construction of the elevated corridor or the service road.
“The NHAI has clarified that the status quo prevails and contrary to some media reports, no decision has been taken yet,” said Mr Raghunathan The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the state government’s apparent desire to build an elevated road on this stretch has not been met with enthusiasm by residents’ associations, who insist that the access roads be built along the road as originally planned.
According to reports, at a recent review meeting, Highways Minister AV Velu had directed officials to expedite the work to get the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to build an elevated road along the 14.5 km stretch.
The Federation for Retrieval of Tiruchi-Palpannai-Thuvakudi Service Roads, which has been agitating for the construction of service lanes for over a decade, is pushing for the resumption of the land acquisition process for the service lanes, which was halted midway.
The association’s chief organiser, R Sakthivel, felt that Mr Velu’s instruction to the officials to pursue the matter was nothing but an attempt to shift the blame on the NHAI. “The state may put forward its demand for construction of the flyover. But will the central government approve it?” he wondered.
The residents’ association claims that the investment for the elevated corridor could be much higher than that for the service lane and that it could take several years to be realized. On the other hand, the service road is already an approved project and can be completed quickly to avoid deaths due to the frequent accidents on the highway section, it claims.
When contacted, an NHAI official said it was up to the state government to take up its demand with the central government, which would have to take a decision in the matter.
