Greenfield highway project: Uncertainty looms over distribution of compensation

The delay in distributing compensation has severely impacted many people who gave up their land for the Palakkad–Kozhikode greenfield highway project. Several affected families continue to live in rented accommodations, struggling with the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the release of the promised aid.

According to action committee members, over 500 people have been waiting for their compensation for over two years. Some of the landowners who lost their homes during the acquisition process have already approached the court to address the inordinate delay, they added.

“All the affected families are from the Perumanna and Olavanna panchayats. The distribution of compensation was halted after complaints emerged regarding discrepancies in the amounts previously disbursed to some landowners in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts,” said a local action committee member from Olavanna. He said that the uncertainty has persisted despite the intervention of people’s representatives and officials from the revenue department.

V. Manoharan, one of the protesting landowners, said that losing their homes disrupted the lives of many families who had planned to construct or purchase new houses using the compensation money. With the prolonged delay, they remain in rented facilities, unsure of when the aid will arrive.

Several traders have indicated that they may launch an indefinite protest seeking a speedy solution to the issue. In Perumanna alone, around 80 traders were affected by the 121-km road project, and their rehabilitation concerns remain unaddressed, they said.

Meanwhile, the Revenue department sources said the acquisition process is in its final phase in Kozhikode district and expressed hope that the technical issues related to the rehabilitation package would soon be resolved. However, they said that legal disputes related to the previously distributed compensation amount created an unexpected delay in the whole process.  

Published - June 05, 2025 07:03 pm IST