Kerala’s SGST And Royalty Waiver Set To Boost Rs 92,834 Crore National Highway Projects Under Vision 2047

The Kerala government has waived state GST and royalty on earth and aggregates for National Highway works, a move expected to substantially reduce project costs for 20 upcoming NHAI projects planned under Vision 2047.

According to a TOI report, the cabinet-cleared decision is projected to benefit 1,795 km of road construction with an estimated land acquisition cost of Rs 92,833.96 crore, of which Kerala bears 25 per cent, or Rs 23,208.49 crore.

By waiving Rs 7,684.82 crore—Rs 6,001.21 crore in SGST and Rs 1,683.61 crore in royalty, the state signals its readiness to align with the Centre's preference for offering highway projects to states extending such concessions.

Beneficiary projects include high-speed corridors like Palakkad-Malappuram-Kozhikode (121 km), Palakkad-Madurai-Rameswaram (315 km), Salem-Erode-Tiruppur-Coimbatore-Thrissur (284 km), and Kochi-Kollam-Kanyakumari (355 km).

Port and coastal access roads such as the 10 km link from Willingdon Island to Kundannoor and the Vizhinjam port connectivity (19 km) are also covered.

Urban decongestion efforts, including the 63 km eastern bypass for Thiruvananthapuram and 92 km bypass for Kochi, are set to benefit from the waiver.

To further reduce construction costs, Kerala had earlier approved a policy allowing dredged earth from certain water bodies to be used for highway works without paying royalty—provided the material is not suitable for other construction purposes or does not contain valuable minerals.

Irrigation department engineers will oversee soil testing and volume assessments, with district geologists and NHAI engineers ensuring the material’s exclusive use for highway works.

Identified dredging sites include Chombala Harbour, Vembanad lake, Pamba river, Ashtamudi lake, and TS Canal, among others.

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