With the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) stalling the four-lane/six-lane widening work and land acquisition process in all districts of Kerala, except Kasaragod, Thomas Isaac, the state Finance Minister on Monday has lashed out at the BJP State President PS Sreedharan Pillai, accusing him of trying to sabotage the project.
The Kerala Finance Minister in a Facebook post carried a picture of a letter sent by Sreedharan Pillai to Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, dated September 14, 2018 requesting to stay land acquisition proceedings for NH 66 which passes through the Edappally - Moothakunnam route in Ernakulam district. In the letter, Pillai says that he has attached a representation by the “NH 17 Samyuktha Samrakshana Samithi” of Ernakulam district, “with regard to the anxiety over the 3A notification and land acquisition proceedings of National Highway Authority of India.”
“It is also requested to keep the land acquisition proceedings in abeyance for a while,” Sreedharan Pillai wrote in his letter to Nitin Gadkari.
Thomas Isaac reacted to this letter by stating that Sreedharan Pillai is making use of his position as the BJP State President as a golden opportunity to sabotage development in Kerala. “Sreedharan Pillai, who tried to disrupt the development of National Highway in Kerala should be treated as a public enemy of the state,” lashed out Thomas Isaac.
“This cannot be seen as a mere difference of political ideologies. The people of this state should think whether we should accept people who tried to betray us through the back door,” asked the Kerala Finance Minister.
Sreedharan Pillai's letter to Nitin Gadkari.
The NHAI has prioritised the development of National highways into two categories - Priority I (High priority projects which will be taken up immediately) and Priority II. According to media reports, the development of the NH and SH corridors in the state has been included in Priority II list. Priority II list will have to wait for another two years to begin. The only exceptions, placed on Priority I list is highways in Thalapady - Chengala and Chengala - Nileswaram in Kasaragod district.
This means that the widening of the NH in Kerala will have to wait till 2021, which is also the year that the current term of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will come to an end.
“The NHAI is making sure that there will be no development of NH in Kerala during the LDF rule. It is clear that the Modi Government is trying to take revenge on Kerala,” said Thomas Isaac.
The inclusion of the NH projects in the Priority II list comes at a time when almost 80 percent of the land acquisition process in the southern districts of the state were complete. The total land that is required for NH 66 is 1,111 hectares.
Sreedharan Pillai’s letter to the Union Minister was first brought out by Kairali News, channel of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Sunday, following which the Finance Minister unleashed his attack on the BJP state president.
Reacting to all this, Sreedharan Pillai, in a press conference on Monday said that Kairali News and Thomas Isaac are behaving like they have found out something great. “The Communists preach that they are a party that stands with the poor but after seeing this response (by Kairali channel and Thomas Isaac), I look at them with pity,” said Pillai.
Sreedharan Pillai was carrying a copy of the letter that he sent to Nitin Gadkari as well as the memorandum submitted to him by the NH 17 Samyuktha Samrakshna Samithi.
“Among the people of the samithi, who came to me requesting for help to stall the land acquisition process, was also a CPI(M) local leader, who happened to live along Edappally - Moothakunnam route,” stated Pillai who went on to say that the Kerala Government in 1972 had acquired 30 metres of land from these people and till date, these people have not been given any compensation or shelters.
“Now, the Kerala Government wants another 15 metres of land to develop NH. A ruling government can’t be so cruel to people,” stated Pillai.
Reading out the memorandum, Pillai stated that if the Kerala government goes about with their land acquisition process, it will affect more than 1,000 families. “The people who came to submit this memorandum told me that if they lose their land, some of them will even resort to suicide,” said Sreedharan Pillai in his press conference.