Mayiladuthurai administration expedites land acquisition for ECR project
The Hindu
MAYILADUTHURAI The district administration has scaled up its efforts to complete the land acquisitio
The district administration has scaled up its efforts to complete the land acquisition process for the ongoing National Highway works on the East Coast Road and planned to complete the project by 2024.
The National Highway 45-A - renamed National Highway 32 - is part of the East Coast Road (ECR) corridor connecting Chennai with Nagapattinam, with further links up to Kanniyakumari via Rameswaram and Thoothukudi.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is implementing the project on widening of existing ECR road from a two-lane to a four-lane. It is said that it was significant to connect the eastern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. The corridor connects two major ports of the State - Chennai and Thoothukudi - and a few other minor ports.
Currently, the works to connect the stretch of the coastal areas from Villupuram district to Nagapattinam are going on. After inspecting the project works at Thirukkadaiyur, Akkur, and Poraiyar in Tharangambadi Taluk on Wednesday, Mayiladuthurai district Collector AP Mahabharathi told The Hindu that the 179-km corridor works from Villupuram district to Nagapattinam pass through Mayiladuthurai district for nearly 44 km.
Works for the 55-km four-way lane in Mayiladuthurai and Karaikal districts at ₹ 2661.75 crore from Sattanathapuram to Vanjur have progressed at 16.40% till February 20, 2023.
Mr. Mahabharathi said the project deadline was scheduled as October 2022 earlier, which was revised later because of land acquisition issues in a few areas. The administration had sorted out the issues surrounding the land acquisition and settled compensation for land owners.
Since the corridor passes through Coastal Regulation Zone in Sirkazhi and Tharangambadi taluks, necessary clearances are obtained from the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority, said sources in the district administration.