Land acquisition getting delayed

KOCHI: Even as the city badly needs parallel roads to divert city traffic, the authorities are still unable to complete the land acquisition to widen the Pulleppady-Thammanam Road. In the wake of the reconstruction of the North ROB, the widening of the Pulleppady-Thammanam is all the more important for diverting traffic.It is shortage of staff for undertaking the resurvey that has crippled the project. The sketch of the alignment submitted earlier had some disparities. It was to correct those disparities that a resurvey was started a decade ago. During the trial traffic regulations imposed by the authorities on September 12, private vehicles, including light vehicles and motorcycles, were diverted through the parallel roads. Once the North ROB is pulled down, the Thammanam-Pulleppady Road will be one of the main alternatives. The land acquisition can be started only after the survey is over. According to the officials with the Kochi Corporation, the resurvey would be completed within a month.District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth said that more officials have been deployed to expedite the resurvey work. “The peg-marking has already been completed,” he said. “The entire survey process is expected to be completed within a fortnight. Then, we will issue the 4 (1) notification for land acquisition,” Sheik Pareeth said.According to the plans, the land acquisition is to be carried out using the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) scheme.