Govt. order waiving GST and royalty awaited for Kochi Bypass

NHAI expected to issue 3(A) notification for Kochi Bypass after state government waives GST and royalty.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is expected to issue the long-overdue 3(A) notification to acquire land for the 44-km Kundannoor-Angamaly NH 544 Bypass (Kochi Bypass), in the wake of the State government issuing in-principle clearance to waive goods and services tax (GST) and royalty for its construction, reliable sources have said.

The decision on issuing in-principle clearance to waive the two components for the semi-access-controlled corridor, that is estimated to cost ₹6,000 crore, was taken following a high-level meeting that was held a week ago. With this, the ball is now in the court of the State’s Finance department. The department’s concurrence is critical for issuing a Government Order (G.O.) waiving GST and royalty for the Greenfield NH project, it is learnt.

The development comes shortly after the NHAI “kept on hold” the Kochi Bypass project, by citing the State’s inordinate delay in waiving GST and royalty for the highway’s construction, as a reason. The Centre demanded the waiver as a prerequisite to commence land acquisition for the project, after the Government of Kerala said that it was not in a position to pool in with 25% of its land acquisition cost.

Official sources said the NHAI and the Revenue department had done necessary paper works to take the land acquisition process ahead once the G.O. on the waiver was issued, followed by the NHAI publishing the 3(A) notification. The notification is issued under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, to acquire approximately 287 hectares of land needed for the project.

They feared that the State’s delay in taking a call on waiving the two components could increase the project cost, by way of land value and also that of raw materials needed for readying the highway corridor. “The proposed highway would pass through large swathes of wetlands, necessitating the need for bridges in many areas. This entails the need for huge quantity of aggregate and steel.”

The greenfield NH was proposed as early as in 2016, to decongest the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass and the Edappally-Angamaly NH 544 stretch where vehicles were jostling for space. With there being no let-up in traffic congestion at the congested Kundannoor Junction, even after a six-lane flyover came up there, it was decided to shift the take-off point of the Kochi Bypass to Netoor, located a km south of Kundannoor on the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass. Likewise, it would join NH 544 at Karayamparambu, located just north of Angamaly.

Welcoming the in-principle clearance on the waiver, K.M. Baby, a member of Thripunithura Bypass Action Council, said the State stood to bear no revenue loss, since there was no immediate outgo of funds. “On the contrary, it stood to gain revenue by way of stamp duty when landowners relocated to other places, and also from the commercial activities that would commence on the corridor,” he said.