Fact Check: Kerala is funding construction of Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod Hilly Highway, not BJP government
During the 2017-18 financial year, the Kerala government sanctioned Rs 3,500 crores for the construction of the hilly highway.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 28 March 2024 1:31 PM GMT
Screengrabs of the posts making the false claim.
Claim: The ongoing construction of the 1,251-km hilly highway from Kasaragod Nandarapadavu to Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district is being funded by the BJP government.
Fact: During the 2017-18 financial year, the Kerala government sanctioned Rs 3,500 crores for the construction of the hilly highway.
Hyderabad: The construction of the 1,251-km hilly highway from Kasaragod Nandarapadavu to Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district has been steadily progressing. Public Works Department minister PA Muhammad Riyas has shared information and updates on work meetings and work progress many times on social media.
On March 25, the X handle of CPI(M) Kerala shared the aerial shot (Archive) of the hill highway, stating that the project would cost Rs 3,500 crores.
Following the post, multiple X users claimed that the CPI(M) has ‘started promoting BJP government’s projects.’ Click here (Archive) and here (Archive) to view the posts.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false as the hill highway is a Kerala government project.
We first checked the amount allocated for the project. According to the report by Manorama Online of March 4, 2017, Rs 3,500 crores was allocated through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) in the 2017-18 state budget for the hilly highway project. We found the same mentioned in the 2017-18 budget speech of then Kerala’s finance minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac.
We also accessed the document of the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Kerala government. According to it, during the 2017-18 budget speech, Rs 3,500 crores was announced for the development of the hill highway. Apart from that, Rs 6,500 crores was sanctioned for the coastal highway and more than Rs 8,000 crores for the construction of other roads, bridges and flyovers.
Later in 2018, there was mention of the same project during the Question Hour of the Kerala Assembly, whose record is in the public domain. The question raised by VS Sivakumar, KC Joseph, VD Satheeshan and IC Balakrishnan was answered by then PWD minister G Sudhakaran on April 4, 2018, which confirmed that the funding for the project is from KIIFB.
In the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly, the estimate committee submitted a report on the project, reaffirming the project funding. The report was submitted in March 2020 which listed the KIIFB funds for the project.
We did not find the mention of Central financial assistance in any official document related to the project. This confirmed that the construction of the mountain highway is in progress using the amount allocated through KIIFB in the 2017-18 Kerala budget.
On March 25, the current minister of Public Works and Tourism, PA Muhammad Riyas, shared a video and said that the Hill Mountain highway project is becoming a reality. He also informed the construction of 149.175 km of highway has been completed. The work on 296.09 km is in progress and the tender for 488.63 km is also in progress.
According to a report by Madhyamam, minister Muhammad Riyas said that the project is expected to be completed by 2025.
Hence, we conclude that the 1,251-km hilly highway construction currently underway from Kasaragod Nandarapadavu to Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district was sanctioned by the Kerala government. The claim that the project has been allocated by the Union government is false.
