Southern Railway has pledged to finish the reconstruction of Nemom Vattavila Suresh Road by June 15. A portion of this road was taken over by the railway as part of ongoing rail doubling work. The assurance was given at a monitoring committee meeting convened by District Collector Anu Kumari at the collectorate on Friday.
Meeting Details and Participants
The meeting was attended by representatives from the railways, corporation, revenue department, and the Nemom Action Council. It was called following directives from the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on a petition filed by the action council. The petition sought intervention to end the hardship faced by residents who lost a part of their public road due to the rail doubling project.
Collector's Instructions and Railway Response
The collector instructed railway officials to ensure the construction of a proper tarred road, approximately 150 meters long, before the onset of the monsoon. The railway representatives responded positively to this request.
Road Specifications and Land Acquisition Issues
The meeting decided that the road should be made motorable. The formalities for handing over the road, which lies on railway-acquired land, will be worked out later by the civic body and railways, in consultation with the action council. Over 20 cents of land were taken over by the district administration in two installments, in 1972 and 2021, without providing alternative road connectivity for the residents.
The road now promised by the railway is barely 3 meters wide, whereas the original road was over 5 meters wide. Railway authorities stated that the district administration or other state authorities may need to acquire additional land if the road width is to be increased further.
SHRC Directives and Compensation
The SHRC directed the district administration to find a solution to the injustice faced by residents, approaching the issue with short-term and long-term strategies. It also ordered the establishment of a monitoring panel to ensure connectivity is restored promptly and to explore options for widening the road by acquiring additional land.
The railway paid over Rs 1 crore to the state government as compensation for 9.5 cents of road handed over to it by the district administration as per a 2021 notification. However, the government gifted over 12 cents of road to the railway as per a 1972 notification.
