Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will approach Supreme Court against its direction restricting construction of houses and commercial establishments along national highways, public works minister P K Basheer said.Supreme Court has directed that permission should not be granted for constructing houses within 40 metres and commercial establishments within 75 metres on either side of the centre line of a national highway. “Given Kerala’s special circumstances, it is not possible or practical to leave more land for building construction. Kerala’s concerns will be conveyed directly to Supreme Court. The state govt will take a clear and firm stand on the issue,” Basheer said.Supreme Court order requires land to be left vacant beyond the existing 45-metre road, including service roads on both sides and the land adjoining them. The order was issued in a case taken suo motu by Supreme Court following the deaths of several people in a road accident in north India.Basheer said the situation in Kerala was entirely different. In the case of several northern states, vehicles could enter and exit the national highway from anywhere along the service road. The construction system was later modified and a closed construction pattern was implemented in Kerala and elsewhere, under which access to the highway is possible only from designated points.Therefore, the risk of accidents of the kind that occurred in such states does not exist in Kerala, he said. The demand for a special exemption for Kerala has also gained strength on the grounds that the state has a higher population density and less available land compared to other states. If Supreme Court direction is not modified, hundreds of landowners and thousands of homeowners, traders and commercial establishments from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram would be adversely affected, the minister said.Work on widening NH 66 into a six-lane highway is progressing in the state. Several new projects recommended by National Highways Authority of India would also be adversely affected by the court order, Basheer added.
