GST and royalty may be waived to accelerate construction of new national highways
Thiruvananthapuram: In order to speed up the construction of the two new National Highways, the state GST of construction materials and the royalties of stones and soil may be waived, subject to certain conditions. The state will put forward the conditions to accelerate the building of the Thiruvananthapuram Ring road that is currently embroiled in uncertainty.
If the centre agrees to the state’s demands, the state will need to proceed with measures to waive GST and royalty for NH construction materials.
The centre has demanded that the GST share for the Ernakulam bypass road and the Kollam-Shenkottai road be waived. CM Pinarayi Vijiyan will meet central minister Nithin Gadkari on August 4 in Delhi. The state will also offer land in Thiruvananthapuram for the NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) office.
The demands like TVM ring road be constructed at a width of 45 meters with a service road 25 meters in length, construction to be taken up by the NHAI, reduce 50% that the state must pay for land acquisition, etc. will be put forth by Kerala.
Gadkari had informed in a letter that the state’s quota (25%) for land acquisition for the construction of Ernakulam Bypass and Kollam-Shenkottai road can be cut if the GST and royalty for materials is waived.
The state is yet to reply to this letter sent by the centre last month. If the central government pursues GST and royalty exemption for future projects, the state will suffer a huge loss of revenue.
The NHAI says that the technical difficulties relating to the land acquisition for the Shenkottai road will soon be resolved and acquisition for the Ernakulam bypass will begin shortly. 280 hectares of land will be required for the EKM bypass that will stretch from Angamaly to Kundanoor.
As a part of developing the NH 66, there is a plan to construct an underpass at Edapally junction. A tender worth Rs 3465 crores has been approved for the Kodungallur-Edappally six-lane road.