Demand for service roads on Tiruchi-Thanjavur NH gains political traction

The long-pending demand for construction of service lanes along the city stretch of Tiruchi-Thanjavur National Highway has gained political traction ahead of the Assembly election.

On February 15, the district administration had announced that the land acquisition process for the project would be completed soon.

In a press release, Collector V. Saravanan said the land acquisition for building service lanes on the 14.5-km-long stretch from Palpannai to Thuvakudi on the highway was under progress in nine villages. Orders for the land acquisition had been issued in Tharanallur and Varaganeri villages and compensation was to be disbursed to the property owners. The land acquisition process in the remaining seven villages would be completed soon and work on forming the service roads would be taken up.

The Collector’s statement came a day prior to an indefinite fast launched by the CPI led by its rural district secretary S. Rajkumar on February 16. The party condemned the official apathy towards the issue and urged the district administration to begin the project immediately.

Pointing to the frequent accidents along the highway stretch, the CPI urged the State government to take steps to build the service lanes expeditiously and ensure the safety of residents, who had been agitating for the cause for over 20 years.

VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan on Wednesday extended his support to the demand and expressed solidarity with the protesting CPI cadre.

Speaking to journalists in Tiruchi, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that various political parties and non-political organisations had been fighting for construction of the service lanes. “The Madras High Court too had issued directions to take appropriate action for building the service roads. Yet, the project has been put in cold storage, much to the disappointment of various organisations. We support the CPI protest.”

The State and the Centre, without being complacent, should take steps to build the service roads. Tiruchi was centrally located with several highways converging in the city and it was essential that the service roads were built on the congested Thanjavur highway, Mr. Thirumavalavan said.

In a fresh statement issued on Wednesday, the Collector said that measurement of land and assessment of property value had been completed in all nine villages of Tharanallur, Varaganeri, Ariyamangalam, Pappakurichil, Ellakudi, Agaram, Tiuverumbur, Koothaipar and Thuvakudi. Steps were being taken to disburse a total compensation of ₹8.58 crore to property owners whose land had been acquired in Tharanallur and Varaganeri.

The hearing with property owners in Ariyamangalam had been completed and orders would be passed before February 28. Hearings had been scheduled in three other villages this month and steps were being taken to complete the process expeditiously in the remaining villages too, he added.

However, residents remained sceptical. The Trichy-Palpannai-Thuvakudi Service Road Meetpu Kootamaippu, described the statement as an “eye-wash.”

K. Rajendran, general secretary of the residents federation, pointed out that the Collector had failed to mention a specific time-frame for completing the land acquisition process in the seven villages. “What has been acquired in two villages would hardly cover about 500 metres in length [along the highway]. Even here, the compensation has not been disbursed yet. The Assembly election process will intervene soon and the process will come to a standstill again,” he observed.

Citing frequent accidents, residents living along the highway have been demanding construction of services lanes on the stretch ever since the highway was four-laned in 2009-10. Property owners, who faced displacement due to the project, opposed the land acquisition and suggested the construction of an elevated corridor instead. The land acquisition process was suspended in the wake of the row. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, in October 2019, had directed the National Highways Authority of India to take expeditious steps to build service lanes..