The Kerala government has allocated an additional ₹1.08 crore for the acquisition of land for the construction of the Polyathode railway overbridge (RoB).
Though ₹7.5 crore was initially sanctioned for land acquisition, an extra ₹4.83 crore was also allocated for the project in 2023. “The latest allocation of ₹1.08 crore is in addition to this. Currently the total amount sanctioned for the Polyathode railway overbridge is ₹31.41 crore. This includes ₹18.11 crore for the construction of bridge and approach road and ₹13.41 crore for land acquisition,” said M. Naushad, MLA.
The RoB is being constructed at railway level crossing No. 545 at Polayathodu. The total length of the nine-span bridge will be 348 m and the width will be 12 m. The Kerala Rail Development Corporation is the implementing agency and the preliminary notification for acquisition of land was issued on August 16 , 2022.
In the 2019-2020 Budget, the State government had allocated funds for the construction of the Polayathodu RoB. The project received administrative sanction as per a government order dated January 13, 2021. In July 2023, the administrative sanction was renewed and ₹18.11 crore was allocated for the construction works.
Notification has been issued to acquire 74.98 cents of land for the project from 67 property owners. “The land will be acquired at market price after ensuring adequate compensation and rehabilitation. This is the sixth RoB project under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) in the Eravipuram constituency,” said the MLA.
