Roads Minister Gadkari assures Kerala CM Satheesan of faster NH-66 work, NH-966 approval in three months

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 8 (IANS) Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has assured Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan that steps will be taken to speed up the delayed works on National Highway 66 in Kerala, an official statement said on Thursday.

CM Satheesan met the Union Minister in New Delhi and discussed several major road and transport projects in the state.

Gadkari assured that the delays in the NH-66 works would be addressed and construction would be expedited.

He also assured that further approval for the NH-966 Kozhikode-Palakkad project would be given within three months.

Around 80 per cent of the land acquisition for the project has already been completed.

The Thiruvananthapuram Outer Ring Road was another major issue discussed at the meeting.

Gadkari said the required Union Cabinet approval for the project would be obtained soon.

The availability of construction materials for highway projects was also discussed.

Steps will be taken to speed up the supply of river sand and quarry materials.

The proposed Sabarimala ropeway project also came up for discussion.

It was agreed to prepare the Detailed Project Report and speed up the required Central and State approvals.

The aim is to complete the project within two years.

Satheesan also sought faster progress on the Western Ernakulam Bypass, Kothamangalam-Muvattupuzha bypasses, and connectivity to Kozhikode International Airport.

The Chief Minister also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various matters concerning Kerala.

The meetings were part of Satheesan’s efforts to take up Kerala’s pending infrastructure and other issues with the Union government.

The discussions with Gadkari are significant as several major road projects in Kerala are at different stages of construction, approval and land acquisition.

The Centre and the state have agreed to work together to remove delays and move the projects forward within specified timelines.

–IANS

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Earlier this month, the ED submitted its sixth supplementary charge sheet to the special court, detailing financial irregularities in the accounts of Sinha and his family members.

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In a message on X, the CBSE said, “To ensure a transparent and glitch-free process for verification and re-evaluation of answer books of students who intend to submit their applications on the Post-Result Activities portal, it has been decided that the designated portal will now be operational from 1st June 2026.”​

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