High on a hillock on the outskirts of Thaliparamba Municipality in northern Kerala, Puliparambil Sreedharan's land property and home are still technically outside the area earmarked for the six-laning of the Kerala section of National Highway 66. Despite this, the widely publicised highway construction, which promises to usher in a new paradigm in Kerala's infrastructural growth, has become a personal nightmare for him, disrupting his life and threatening his home.
The hill excavation, a component of the road extension initiative by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), has put his residence at risk of collapse during the forthcoming weeks of the southwest monsoon, which could lead to loss of property and even life.
The hillside underpinning his house, spanning over 500 metres, was flattened; the substantial impact compromised the structure's stability. The family has relocated to a leased property a little away without pursuing compensation from the NHAI. Sreedharan is ineligible for compensation for land acquisition due to road widening, as the authorities did not formally acquire his land.
On June 4, photographs of his deserted residence proliferated on social media, underscoring how unscientific infrastructure expansion and flawed construction procedures are complicating the lives of the ordinary populace.
Meanwhile, residents in the neighbouring Kuppam-Kappanamthatti region are enduring sleepless nights due to the ongoing highway expansion activities. This activity has already been linked to five significant landslides, as huge amounts of loose dirt induced by intense monsoon rainfall have descended into adjacent residential areas.
Furthermore, perilous fissures have emerged on the highway under construction. Residents consider the hill excavation for soil extraction and the general construction methodologies as unscientific, emphasising the human toll of these endeavours.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission issued a notice to NHAI after a media report highlighted the failure of concrete sidewalls intended to protect the roadway at many key points. In Kuppam, for instance, the crumbled segment was situated outside a recognised landslide-prone zone. Yet, the part had been altered as part of the highway construction initiative, prompting significant concerns regarding governmental accountability in these projects.
In Keezhattur hamlet, adjacent to Kuppam and Thaliparamba, an unsettling calm prevails amid the inundation of residential zones, paddy fields and wetlands, as highway construction disrupts the natural hydrology of this formerly biodiversity-rich environment.
Since 2018, Keezhattur has been a significant environmental issue, as villagers have protested the appropriation of land from paddy fields for the development of a bypass road around Taliparamba town, which is part of the national highway. The strong local resistance sought to protect their wetlands from further devastation.
The state and national administrations have repressed dissenters through intimidation, resulting in a lack of opposition despite ongoing construction that endangers the public. Suresh Keezhattoor, the notable leader of the protests, is now incapacitated by paralysis.
Going by official claims, the Kerala section of NH-66, which has been under development for several years, is now nearing completion. The project is being developed into a six-lane highway extending from the northern regions of the state to its southern border, with a revised completion target established before the Assembly elections slated for early 2026.
The continuous development of NH-66 has sparked significant environmental concerns. The highway, under construction despite the onset of the monsoon, is already shaping up to be a major environmental disaster, validating the fears of environmentalists who had warned against the acquisition of paddy fields, wetlands and delicate hill slopes for highway construction.
NHAI and Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government face significant criticism for forcibly acquiring lengthy hill tracts, extensive wetlands and paddy fields, along with providing inadequate compensation. The improper building methods, which disregard Kerala's topographical peculiarities, have resulted in substantial problems. These include extensive cracks in the completed sections of the extended route, as well as flooding and inundation.
Numerous segments of NH-66 have manifested fissures or subsided during the current pre-monsoon season, indicating possible deficiencies in its construction. The fissures are predominantly located in the Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Thrissur districts. Environmental activist Sreedhar Radhakrishnan highlights concerns regarding public safety and the technical viability of this enormous road project in the state, as the monsoon is anticipated to worsen in the forthcoming weeks.
Although NHAI, governed by the central government, is responsible for constructing NH-66 in Kerala, this project has been incorporated into the achievement report of the state's LDF government, released earlier this week to commemorate its nine-year tenure. State Public Works Minister Muhammed Riyas announced that the state government has been working closely with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on the multi-state 1,600-km NH-66 project.
On its part, the Kerala government has been vocal about its contributions to the project through land acquisitions. Kerala has funded 25 per cent of the land acquisition costs, amounting to around Rs 5,600 crore, while the central government has provided the rest.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government has taken credit for the project due to this significant contribution. However, a series of incidents, including the collapse on May 19 in Malappuram and the appearance of fissures in various locations, have put the state government in a difficult position regarding the project's future.
In response to the purported building flaws, Chief Minister Vijayan attempted to deflect responsibility. He declared at a public assembly in Kollam, "The NHAI oversees the construction of the national highway. Neither the state government nor the Public Works Department is engaged in this matter.''
The establishment of national highways has been a challenging matter in Kerala over the past 20 years, affecting both the LDF and the United Democratic Front (UDF) administrations. Kerala has lagged in highway building relative to other states, attributed to a perceived "retrogressive" approach by successive governments towards land acquisition and corporate involvement.
In 2013, the UPA administration at the national level enacted the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, broadening its applicability to national highway projects. Following the LDF's return to power in Kerala in 2016, the state consented to finance 25 per cent of the land acquisition expenses, hence facilitating improved compensation for landowners.
Nevertheless, the recent collapses and significant fractures that emerged on road segments throughout Kerala have astonished both the state and the union governments. Along with vulnerability in construction, failures in soil nailing also adversely affect the safety of the expanded highway segments.
NHAI denied any engineering deficiencies throughout the project's earlier phases. Anshul Sharma, the NHAI project director, informed the district collector and local representatives in Malappuram after the first incident that "rainwater infiltrated the incomplete surface, resulting in the embankment's collapse due to the excessive weight." This clarification came during a contentious discussion in the third week of May when representatives and citizens of Malappuram challenged him with enquiries regarding the reasons for the accidents.
K Shamsudheen's experiences in Thirurangadi, Malappuram, shed light on the gravity of the unfolding circumstances. On the afternoon of May 19, 2025, under heavy rainfall, Shamsudheen was operating his vehicle along the service road beneath the under-construction elevated National Highway-66 at Kooriyad, near Tirurangadi. The family was elated and eagerly proceeded to attend a wedding.
Soon, a resounding thud reverberated through the vehicle's surface as pebbles descended, sending him into turmoil. The vehicle abruptly halted, one wheel ensnared in a substantial fissure that appeared to have emerged unexpectedly. "I believed the earth was trembling," recounts Shamsudheen, a grocery shop proprietor, his voice still imbued with the astonishment of that instant. "Abruptly, my vehicle was caught in a freshly created fissure, partially obscured by debris."
His spouse Rasiya and their child sustained injuries during their attempt to flee. The surrounding sight was one of complete desolation. The highway's eight-metre embankment crumbled due to the weight of precipitation, sagging and crumbling over a 200-metre span. The elevated roadway collapsed, resulting in substantial cracks on the service road beneath.
Extensive, broad fissures fractured the surface as the embankment's foundation began to subside. A significant section of the embankment rose, forming a long ridge of displaced soil that highlighted an engineering flaw.
The passengers in three other cars travelling on the service road suffered only minor injuries, fleeing for safety and leaving their vehicles behind. “I am still in shock. Luckily, m family escaped with only bruises,” stated Mohammed Ajmal from Chelari, his voice quivering as he displayed his battered hands. “Had the entire embankment collapsed upon us, our fate would have been sealed.”
The fall rendered the inhabitants of Malappuram district in a state of shock and indignation. NHAI and the contractor, KNR Constructions Ltd (KNRCL), were significantly impacted, as the 77-kilometre segment of NH-66 in Malappuram was imminent to its official inauguration.
Experts are now expressing the same apprehensions that environmentalists have articulated. E Sreedharan, former head of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, believes that constructing a high embankment on soft terrain, such as paddy fields or wetlands, is fraught with peril.
A majority of Kerala's extended national highways were built by raising the terrain using gabion barriers, with interlocking cement bricks on the surface and soil filling the interior. Numerous local civic organisations assert that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the contractors disregarded multiple complaints regarding the inappropriateness of this building technique in regions with marshy soil.
The rice fields where the roadway is under construction are recognised for their susceptibility to waterlogging. Despite persistent requests from neighbours for the construction of the elevated highway on concrete pillars, the authorities opted for the ground-raised embankment method. Sreedhar Radhakrishnan stated that those apprehensions have become reality with the recent collapse, which also failed various sections of the embankments.