Tiruchi-Karaikudi highway project clears hurdle.

The Madras High Court has upheld the petitions of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to go ahead with the 107-km Tiruchi-Karaikudi highway project spread across three districts in south and central Tamil Nadu.

The Rs. 374-crore project is being implemented by the private concessionaire, Transstroy Tiruchi-Karaikudi Tollways Pvt Ltd., on the build-operate-transfer basis.

In the order passed recently, covering three separate petitions by the NHAI, the High Court quashed the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department's (PWD) orders stopping work on the project on grounds that the alignment of the road impacts water bodies.

The stop-work notices issued by the PWD initially stalled the project running through Tiruchi, Pudukottai and Sivagangai and linking National Highways - NH-67, NH-45B, NH-210, and NH-45.

However, according to petitioner's sources, the NHAI had obtained an interim injunction early last year to be able to continue with the project, which also involves establishing new bypass for major cities and towns - Tiruchi, Keeranur, Pudukottai, Thirumayam and Karaikudi.

The High Court's order allowing the NHAI's petition clears the final bottleneck in the project.


HBL