Kozhikode: The National Highway Authority of India said that the land prices set in Kozhikode district for the Palakkad-Kozhikode Greenfield National Highway project by the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition are unreasonably high.

They found that the proposed compensation exceeds one and a half times the fair market value set for the land acquired for National Highway 66. This contravenes the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The NHAI has determined that land prices were established based on wrong criteria. A detailed report highlighting these will be submitted to the Greenfield National Highway Arbitration - the Kozhikode district collector on the following day.

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Previously, the state-level monitoring committee had identified that the land prices set by the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition were inflated. Subsequently, based on a committee's report assessing the pricing criteria, the Competent Authority had revised the land prices and submitted it to NHAI. Accordingly, the NHAI had allocated Rs 313 crore in two phases and commenced compensating landowners, particularly those who would lose their homes, on a priority basis.

The compensation payments have been temporarily halted for now. The NHAI has decided to present a comprehensive report during the next arbitration session. Consequently, the disbursement of compensation in the district is likely to be delayed until appropriate land prices are established.

The proposed Palakkad-Kozhikode Greenfield National Highway traverses only through the Perumanna and Olavanna village limits within the Kozhikode district.