Pragmatic, community-inclusive approach needed to avoid land acquisition delays, says Minister

A pragmatic, community-inclusive approach involving local people and elected representatives is needed to mitigate land acquisition delays in Kerala, Minister for Public Works P.K. Basheer has said.

Speaking after inaugurating the curtain-raiser ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the KSCSTE – National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (July 14, 2026), he stressed the need to complete the infrastructure projects in a time-bound manner.

Highlighting the necessity of strengthening communication between the Public Works Department (PWD) and NATPAC to expedite road and junction improvements across the State, he said that leveraging the expertise of public-sector research institutions like NATPAC is vital to driving a technological transformation in the infrastructure sector.

Ashalatha R., Director, KSCSTE-NATPAC, who welcomed the gathering, reaffirmed NATPAC’s commitment to formulating policies that foster sustainable, smart, and safe mobility networks. P. Harinarayanan, Member Secretary, KSCSTE, who presided over the function, outlined the future research roadmap of the institute. Acknowledging NATPAC’s historic role in the development of national highways as well as the hill and coastal highways of Kerala, he promised full institutional support to upgrade the centre by leveraging the expertise of young scientists in alignment with the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ vision.

The event also marked the launch of three major golden jubilee initiatives. The golden jubilee logo was released by the Minister, symbolising five decades of excellence in transport research. An activity calendar, a compilation of year-long scientific and technical events, was released by K.R. Cleetus, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Councillor, at the function, while the ‘TRANSFORM 2026’ logo, the logo for NATPAC’s upcoming international conference on safe and sustainable transportation, was released by Bidur Kant Jha, Director, Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The inaugural session was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Kerala On The Move: Shaping Future Mobility for 2047.’T. Elangovan, former Director of NATPAC, moderated the session.