Kerala Cabinet likely to approve royalty waiver, GST for Kochi Bypass, Kollam-Sengottai greenfield NH

The 44 km greenfield NH corridor (named Kochi Bypass) that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) proposed in order to link Kundannoor on the NH 66 Bypass with Angamaly on NH 544 has got a shot in the arm, with the State Cabinet likely to approve the waiver on royalty for raw materials and also the State Goods and Services Tax (GST) for its construction later this month, it is learnt.

The file relating to the Centre’s demand to waive the royalty and also the State GST is understood to have reached top functionaries of the Public Works department (PWD) from the Chief Minister’s Office, on Thursday. This will in turn help realise the Kollam-Sengottai greenfield NH corridor, which was caught up in procedural and other wrangles associated with the waiver of the two components, sources said.

They attributed the delay in issuing a Government Order (GO) in this regard to the Finance department having to work out the nitty-gritty of the waiver process.

A GO is crucial for issuing the 3(A) notification to begin the process to acquire 287 hectares for the semi-access controlled NH corridor that will considerably decongest both the Aroor-Edappally bypass and the Edappally-Angamaly stretch of NH 544, which carry approximately one lakh passenger car units daily.

Thursday’s (July 4) development comes shortly after Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed Hibi Eden, Ernakulam MP, in a letter that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had requested the Government of Kerala to confirm exemption of State GST and royalty on aggregates and earth for the two projects, as early as in August 2023. “However, confirmation has not been received so far from the Kerala government,” he said in a letter dated June 26, 2024.

Over a year ago, the State government had requested MoRTH to exempt it from sharing 25% of the land-acquisition cost for the Kochi Bypass and the Kollam-Sengottai stretch on NH 744. In return, MoRTH sought a GO waiving the two components. But the GO remained elusive, despite the State government granting in-principle clearance for the waiver as early as in January.

Expressing concern at the worsening traffic snarls on the Aroor-Edappally bypass, Mr. Eden had on (July 3) Wednesday demanded that the State government take steps to communicate its final decision on the waiver to the Centre to end the stalemate in realising the proposed greenfield NH.