Outer ring road project runs into hurdle after SC verdict

Time of India

20-05-2025

Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court's May 16 ruling, which struck down a 2017 notification by the Union ministry of environment and forests permitting
environmental clearance
(EC) after project work had commenced, has dealt a major blow to the outer ring road (ORR) project in the capital.
Consequently,
compensation payments
to affected landowners for the ORR remain in limbo. The National Highways Authority of India (
NHAI
) is still awaiting the environmental clearance from the Union ministry for the project's northern section, stretching from Thekkada to Navaikulam. In contrast, the southern section—from Thekkada to Vizhinjam—received clearance in 2023.
Complicating matters further, the tenure of the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) committee ended in March.
With a new committee yet to be constituted, responsibility for granting EC has shifted to the Union ministry. However, the Supreme Court's decision has removed the provision for post-facto approvals, halting further progress on the already delayed project.
"This judgment has created an unexpected legal bottleneck," said a senior NHAI official. "We were on the verge of initiating compensation for landowners, but without environmental clearance, we are not legally permitted to proceed.
The entire process is now frozen until valid clearance is granted."
Envisioned to decongest the city and create a high-speed traffic corridor, the ORR project has faced repeated delays. Construction was expected to begin in April this year after land acquisition, but now, even that initial step stands delayed.
"This is a case of administrative delay compounding a legal issue," said S Chandramohan Nair, convener of the action council for affected landowners.
"Had the SEIAA committee been reconstituted in time, we wouldn't be in this position. People have waited for months for compensation, and now we're back to square one."
"Landowners are losing patience. We supported this project for its public benefit. But with no progress or compensation, we may have no choice but to take to the streets," Nair said. SEIAA officials acknowledged the urgency. "The committee reconstitution is under active consideration by the state govt," an official said.
"We expect it to be announced soon, which should help resolve the impasse."
Earlier this month, affected landowners staged a sit-in protest at the NHAI regional office in Chackai. They called off the protest after NHAI's Kerala regional officer, BL Meena, assured that compensation would be paid within a month or the project would be cancelled.
In Jan 2025, the district administration transferred Rs 700 crore to NHAI for compensation, but no payments have been made to landowners across 11 villages. The Rs 4,767-crore ORR project, sanctioned in Aug 2024, spans 63km and is expected to ease traffic and improve connectivity to the Vizhinjam International Seaport.