Widening of NH205 hits roadblock

Even after four years, the project is yet to pick up pace as officials have not even moved a stone on the 12 km Tirunindravur-Thiruppachur stretch.  Officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that the land acquisition has been completed and works would resume once they get the environmental clearance certificate. 

Sources said, the state government planned to convert the road into a six-lane stretch from Padi to Tirupati for free flow of traffic. However, officials faced stiff opposition from vendors and commercial establishments in the locality, when they took up widening works on the 24-km-long Padi-Tirunindravur stretch. This prompted NHAI to hand over the work to the State Highways (SH) department and allotted Rs 98 crore. As the officials continued to face resistance from all sides, the works were put on hold. 

“We made maximum effort and removed encroachments. The work will be completed soon. We have taken up works at various points,” said a senior engineer with the State Highways department, on condition of anonymity. He added that as four years have lapsed since the foundation was laid the costs might have escalated. So, a proposal would be sent to the government after preparing a fresh blueprint. Meanwhile, there are plethora of appeals from the public to expedite the work. 

“The city is witnessing increasing traffic congestion. The officials should have completed the work by initiating corrective and necessary measures,” said A Karunakaran, a resident of Ambattur. Speaking to DTNext, D Surendranath, Project Director of Chennai, NHAI said, “We have completed the land acquisition process and compensation has been paid to the owners. There are four water bodies along the stretch. So, we are waiting for the environmental clearance certificate from the PWD. We are hopeful completing the entire work within six months.