Letter from Sri. V. K. Mathews, Chairman & CEO of IBS Group of Companies on "NH widening" issue

This mail was sent to all the employees of IBS; it says:

SUB: Safe and efficient road system for the future of Kerala

Dear All,

This is a long mail, and it has nothing to do with IBS' business.  I am writing this note to seek your assistance on an important matter for our state. Take your own time and read at your own pace, but please do read it and do what you can to help.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approved the expansion of about 700 KMs of highways in Kerala, at an estimated investment of up to 10,000 Crores, over a 30 months period. However, the Kerala Government and the Opposition together has represented to the Prime Minister that the expansion should be limited to 30 meters (as against the NHAI standard of 60 Meters), quoting the impact of land acquisition on the people on the sides of the highways. Obviously, this has put the entire project at risk as NHAI will not and cannot consider it under the current highways scheme, and we could lose this approved funding and the essential expansion project. The immediate impact will be the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47.

According to authentic statistics, Kerala has the highest vehicle density of 1:6 in the country (one vehicle for every 6 people, which is over 4 times the national average), which is comparable to USA (1:5), and the lowest level of highway system among other states. The annual traffic growth is the highest in Kerala, which will make the roads ever more congested in the coming years.  Every day, Kerala witnesses 11 deaths and 120 grievous injuries due to road accidents, resulting in total or partial disabilities!  The number families, more so belonging to the lower strata of the society, getting totally devastated every year is alarmingly high in Kerala. The productivity loss and increased fuel costs on the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47 itself, due to congestion and lower average speed,  is estimated to be about 2,700 Crores per year. 



For the development and growth of Kerala, where 90% of our young generation aspires to be engaged or employed in the value adding service sector (than traditional/ agriculture/ manufacturing), it is absolutely important that we have safe and efficient transportation infrastructure, especially roads and highways.

This is the context where our political leaders, both ruling as well as opposition together, are opposing the NH expansion project.  It is extremely unfortunate and, in a way, paradoxical that when the whole country is asking for more funds for building more transportation infrastructure, in Kerala, the only topic on which both the Government and Opposition coming united is to block the infrastructure development.

I have met both the central and state minsters, along with the representatives from 20 plus professional organizations.  The political leaders understand the need for the project, but they are fearful of the reaction of affected people in the next Panchayath and Assembly elections! This is not how you and I would want our political system to be, but we must realize that politicians these days simply respond to the electorate opinion, than influencing and leading them in the interest of the society, even risking their own popularity.

Whilst rehabilitation is the most important aspect that the State Government should focus on, there are also a lot of factually incorrect arguments on the impact of the expansions. The total number of people that will be affected by the land acquisition will be less than 50,000, according to the study conducted by NHAI,  whereas the figure used by those against the highway expansion is 25 lacs!!! The good thing is that there is plenty of funds already available from Central Government for acquiring land at even 2.5 times the market price. We must realize that the Kerala Government, considering its financial situation and other priorities, cannot afford to acquire expensive land at all, and therefore we should use this Central funding to facilitate total and effective rehabilitation.

Now, what is it that we can do to help? Each one of us can contribute to bringing about progressive changes in the society in our own modest little ways. In a democracy, politicians respond to the aspirations and opinions of the people. The awareness of people is therefore fundamental to the effectiveness of a democratic system. On this count, the IT fraternity is more fortunate than others because we have better exposure and understanding than perhaps the 90% of our population. We should engage our people, however small a group it may be, perhaps starting from your own homes, to make them understand the needs and priorities of our state and what they can do to help.  The state of Kerala has huge potential and can achieve far more progress at an accelerated pace than what we have achieved so far.  Not that all of us will agree on everything or have the same views, but each one of us can and should try to make a positive difference, however small it may be, to the society that we live in by participating in the process.

I count on your support to create safe and efficient transportation infrastructure which will be the backbone for sustained development of the service sector in Kerala.

Best regards,

VK 
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V K Mathews
Chairman & CEO
The IBS Group