Thiruvananthapuram’s Outer Ring Road Project Hits Deadlock As Land Costs Double To Rs 3,800 Crore

The long-stalled Outer Ring Road (ORR) project in Thiruvananthapuram, set to link Vizhinjam with Navaikulam via Thekkada, faces significant financial and administrative hurdles as land acquisition costs have surged from Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 3,800 crore, The New Indian Express reported.

The revised estimate is valid only until August, according to TNIE sources.

If the government fails to release funds to landowners before then, costs are expected to climb further due to accrued interest under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, which mandates 12 per cent annual interest on delayed payments.

Originally projected at Rs 1,800 crore, to be split equally between the Centre and the state, the acquisition now covers 314 hectares across 24 villages.

However, the project has languished for over three years amid persistent demands for compensation from affected landowners.

Following a meeting last month with Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Kerala’s PWD Minister P A Mohammad Riyas announced that final Central approval for the ORR would come by July end.

“Both the state and Centre will have to allocate more funds for the land acquisition as the interest rates keep adding on to the present estimates,” a district administration official was quoted as saying.

Chandramohan Nair, convenor of the action council representing around 6,000 landowners, expressed frustration.

“Both the state and Centre have been telling blatant lies and cheating us for the past three years. We have decided to launch a hunger strike in front of the NHAI office,” he stated.

With notifications issued for only 11 villages so far, significant procedural hurdles remain, and the risk of escalating costs looms large if delays persist.

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