Bypass road work to resume soon

Work on the laying of bypass road connecting Tiruchi-Madurai and Tiruchi-Karur national highways around the city is expected to begin after obtaining environmental clearance.

The bypass road, which would run from Panchapur on NH45 via Thayanur to Jeeyapuram on NH 67, had remained unfinished for the past few years.

The National Highways Authority of India, the executing agency, had sought environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment for the revised alignment after the Public Works Department gave its consent for the revised alignment of the road in May this year.

The project was taken up as part of widening of the NH 67 being executed on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The project ran into controversy over its alignment and land acquisition issues since 2006-07. The project was halted midway in 2010 after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, while hearing a petition from farmers’ organisations, struck down the NHAI’s plan to lay the road across Kothamangalam, Kallikudi and Punganur tanks.

The farmers complained that laying the road across the tanks would affect irrigation and their livelihood. The court suggested that the NHAI could lay the bypass road without affecting irrigation sources.The road being a semi-ring road around the city could substantially reduce traffic congestion in the city. The total length of the bypass road was around 17 km.

An alternative alignment was proposed after a public hearing was held in December 2011 but the work could not be resumed as a no objection certificate from the PWD was awaited for the revised alignment. After the NoC was issued, the NHAI had sought environmental clearance from the Union Environment Ministry as the district authorities insisted on it citing conditions laid by the High Court.

Sources in the NHAI said the environmental clearance was expected soon as an inspection has been completed. The NHAI has submitted its compliance report with respect to certain issues raised after the inspection. The work on the project would resume soon.