NH widening hindered by soil, rock shortage; NHAI awaits approval to use mines on govt land

Thiruvananthapuram: The progress of the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod National Highway-66 development project is facing a setback due to the unavailability of essential construction materials such as soil and stone. The initial plan to complete the project and fully open it before 2026 is now in jeopardy. Presently, only five reaches of the highway have been made accessible to the public, while the construction work in 20 reaches is experiencing delays.

The project is encountering challenges, particularly in obtaining construction materials from Tamil Nadu. This situation is causing a significant crisis in the southern districts. According to the National Highways authorities, despite their prior communication about the need to extract stone and soil from quarries on government land, no official notification has been received from the state government. The matter is currently under consideration by the revenue department.

During a recent meeting, the government assured the National Highways Authority that they would explore the possibility of amending certain regulations within the revenue department to address the current hurdles and expedite the progress of the project.