Work on NH 66 to be completed as per schedule, Centre assures State

The construction on the National Highway 66 would be completed in December 2025 itself as per schedule, assured Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. The assurance was given to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during a meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also sought to exempt the money spent by Kerala for the land acquisition of highway projects in the State from the borrowing limit of Kerala.

However, no assurance was given to the State in this regard, as the Union Minister made it clear that the issue was not within his limits, and an intervention of the Prime Minister was necessary for such demands.

Mr. Vijayan said in a social media post that the meeting with the Union Minister was productive. The meeting also reviewed the progress of ongoing National Highway projects in Kerala, he said while thanking his continued support.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Public Works Department Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said the work on the NH stretch from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram would be completed in December 2025, and the new NH would be a New Year gift for the Keralites.

The assurance for constructing a 360-metre viaduct to replace the collapsed stretch of NH 66 at Kooriyad, near Tirurangadi, in Malappuram was received in the meeting.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already suspended the staff responsible for the collapse of the road, and the contractor company was prevented from undertaking further activities in the stretch. The expense for constructing the collapsed stretch Kooriyad would be levied from the contractor company.

The issues that cropped up in connection with the construction of NH in other parts of the State were also brought to the attention of the Union Minister, and he assured necessary interventions to prevent the recurrence of any such issues in the future, said Mr. Riyas.

Out of the 20 projects put forth by the State seeking the approval of the Centre, 14 projects received assurance from the Centre. The projects that received central nods include the Thiruvananthapuram Outer Ring Road project, for which the order will be issued in July, and the Palakkad-Kozhikode Greenfield Highway, the approval for which will be issued by the end of July.

The Minister also said that the order for starting the work on the Kollam-Shenkottai Greenfield project will be issued by September.

The soil and sludge collected from the water bodies will be used for road construction, but only after ensuring the quality of the material for road construction. The Irrigation and Inland Navigation departments and the NHAI will ensure the quality of the material. The Minister also said that it would be decided later whether there would be restrictions on small vehicles, including bikes and autorickshaws, on NH 66.

Published - June 04, 2025 08:27 pm IST