Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan has written to his Tamil Nadu counterpart, C Joseph Vijay, seeking his personal intervention to ease restrictions on the inter-state transport of stone aggregates, warning that the curbs could delay several national highways and other strategically important infrastructure projects in Kerala.
In a letter dated July 28, CM Satheesan referred to the Tamil Nadu government's July 9 notification regulating the inter-State transportation of rough stones and construction materials. He said the new restrictions had significantly disrupted the movement of stone aggregates from Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts, which have traditionally supplied a major share of the materials required for Kerala's infrastructure projects.
Pointing out that Kerala has limited natural availability of suitable stone aggregates for large-scale construction, Satheesan said the state has long depended on neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu to meet the requirements of ongoing National Highway (NH) projects.
He said the restrictions had disrupted the supply chain, slowing construction activity and posing "a serious risk of delay" to several strategically important projects, The Hindu reported.
According to the Chief Minister, the NH projects are significant not only for Kerala but for the entire southern region, as they are expected to improve regional connectivity, enhance logistics efficiency, facilitate trade and tourism, and strengthen access to economic hubs in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
He also noted that timely completion of these projects was particularly important with direct export-import operations at the Vizhinjam International Seaport expected to begin on August 18. The highway network is expected to handle increased container traffic from the port and provide seamless connectivity to both Vizhinjam and the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam.
While expressing appreciation for Tamil Nadu's objective of ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources, Satheesan urged the state to adopt a balanced approach that would accommodate the requirements of nationally important infrastructure projects without compromising its regulatory framework, The Times of India reported.
Invoking the long-standing spirit of cooperation between the two states, he requested Vijay to personally intervene and consider granting suitable relaxations, or evolve an appropriate mechanism, to facilitate the uninterrupted transport of stone aggregates meant exclusively for ongoing national highway and other strategically significant projects in Kerala.