Kerala seeks relaxation in Tamil Nadu’s stone transport restrictions

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to relax restrictions on the inter-state transport of stone aggregates, warning the curbs could delay national highway projects and affect key infrastructure linking the Vizhinjam port and southern India

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday urged his Tamil Nadu counterpart, C Joseph Vijay, to reconsider the restrictions imposed by his government on the inter-state transportation of rough stones and other construction materials.

He said the curbs had affected the execution of national highway projects in the state.In a letter to Vijay, Satheesan said Kerala and Tamil Nadu have always shared “a unique and enduring relationship” rooted in geographical proximity, cultural affinity and a long tradition of cooperation.

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“Our two governments have consistently worked together in a spirit of cooperative federalism to promote the welfare and economic development of our people,” he said in the letter, a copy of which was shared with the media by the CMO. Referring to the Tamil Nadu government’s gazette notification on the issue, Satheesan said it introduced provisions regulating the inter-state transportation of rough stones and other construction materials, significantly affecting the movement of stone aggregates from Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts to Kerala.

He said these districts have traditionally been the principal source of stone aggregates required for the execution of several national highway projects in Kerala. “As you are aware, Kerala has limited availability of suitable stone aggregates for large-scale infrastructure works. A substantial quantity of the materials required for the ongoing national highway projects is therefore sourced from neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu,” Satheesan said.

He said the restrictions on inter-state transportation had adversely affected the supply chain, disrupted construction activities and posed a serious risk of delays in the completion of several strategically important projects.

Satheesan said the national highway projects were of immense significance not only to Kerala but to the southern region as a whole, as they would strengthen regional connectivity, improve logistics efficiency, facilitate trade and tourism, and enhance access to key economic hubs in both states.

He noted that the projects would provide seamless connectivity to the Vizhinjam International Seaport and the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam, contributing significantly to the economic growth and competitiveness of southern India.

While appreciating the objectives behind the Tamil Nadu government’s policy and the need to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources, Satheesan said he was confident that “a balanced approach can be evolved whereby the legitimate requirements of nationally important infrastructure projects are accommodated without compromising the policy objectives of the Government of Tamil Nadu.”

Satheesan requested Vijay’s intervention to grant suitable relaxations or evolve an appropriate mechanism to facilitate the uninterrupted transportation of stone aggregates required exclusively for the ongoing National Highway and other nationally significant infrastructure projects in Kerala.

“Such a measure would greatly assist in ensuring the timely completion of these projects and would further reinforce the spirit of cooperation that has always characterised the relationship between our two states,” he said. Satheesan said he was confident of the Tamil Nadu government’s cooperation in resolving the issue expeditiously and looked forward to a positive response from his counterpart.