Union Grants Final Clearance for Kerala’s Anakkampoyil-Meppadi Tunnel Road Project

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has granted final clearance for the Rs 2,134.5 crore Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel road project in Kerala, allowing diversion of 17.26 hectares of forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The 8.73-km tunnel road connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode districts is among Kerala's largest infrastructure projects. The ministry imposed 24 conditions, including compensatory afforestation, wildlife protection, and restrictions on labour camps and new forest roads. The Kerala Public Works Department oversees construction, funded by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, with Konkan Railway Corporation as the project’s special purpose vehicle.