MEMORANDUM TO THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

Subject: Prayer for reconsideration of the interim order imposing a 75-meter construction ban on both sides from the centre of all National Highways.

Reference: Interim Orders dated 13.04.2026 and 13.07.2026 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 9 of 2025 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

It is most humbly and respectfully submitted as under:

The interim orders cited above, which prohibit land use as a buffer zone up to 40 meters for residential and 75 meters for commercial purposes on both sides from the centre of all National Highways, and which direct that no license, NOC or trade permit of any kind shall be issued within this safety zone without prior permission of the NHAI and that all existing licenses be reviewed, have caused deep distress and anxiety among lakhs of people in the State of Kerala.

While I have the highest regard for the Hon'ble Court's concern for road safety, which prompted the suo motu cognizance following two tragic accidents in Rajasthan and Telangana, I most humbly submit that a uniform, pan-India order of this nature will have a catastrophic and disproportionate impact on the State of Kerala due to its unique and exceptional circumstances. I pray that the following facts may kindly be considered:

MAIN SUBMISSIONS

1. Freezing of Land and Economic Paralysis
The order has effectively frozen all transactions relating to the most commercially valuable land in the State. Sale and purchase have come to a standstill, ongoing building constructions have been stalled, and new projects have been abandoned. If made final, it will push the State into a severe economic crisis, rendering lakhs of families homeless and jobless, destroying the roadside small-scale business sector, and drastically reducing the State's revenue from GST, registration fees, building permits, building tax, profession tax and license fees. Local Self-Government Institutions will lose their primary sources of income.

2. The Case for Contextual Relaxation for Kerala
The Central Government itself, recognizing Kerala's unique constraints, had reduced the required Right of Way for NH-66 from the standard 60 meters to 45 meters. This relaxation was granted after considering the State's high population density, high building density, scarcity of land, existing ribbon development, social impact and environmental vulnerabilities. The present interim order negates that considered relaxation and will push lakhs of families into anxiety, destitution and anarchy.

3. Constitutional Concerns under Article 300A
The right to property, though a legal right under Article 300A of the Constitution, cannot be negated by invoking jurisdiction under Article 32. The State may acquire land for development projects only through due process of law and on payment of compensation. The blanket freezing of land without acquisition and compensation amounts to a de facto denial of this right.

4. Fundamental Difference in Highway Infrastructure
It is respectfully submitted that it is inappropriate to apply the same standard to (a) access-controlled, six-lane highways with concrete medians and service roads separated by concrete crash barriers, and (b) highways lacking such modern safety features. The accidents considered by the Hon'ble Court occurred in Phalodi, Rajasthan and Ranga Reddy District, Telangana, on stretches where lanes were not divided by a median, and as per media reports, one accident was caused by a trailer truck illegally parked on the main carriageway and another by a vehicle swerving to avoid a pothole.

In stark contrast, NH-66 in Kerala is a six-lane, access-controlled highway with a concrete median in the centre, barricaded on both sides with entry and exit permitted only through designated points. The service roads are completely segregated from the main carriageway by concrete walls. Direct entry onto the main carriageway is prohibited. Thus, the possibility of such accidents is drastically minimized. Applying the same buffer zone criteria to this scientifically designed, 100% signal-free highway conforming to modern IRC guidelines is unjustified.

5. Severe Impact of the Proposed Buffer Zone
The requirement of an additional 105 meters (52.5 meters on each side) over and above the existing 45-meter highway is deeply alarming. On NH-66 alone, this would render 16,615 acres of the most valuable land completely unusable. As the average width of many other National Highways in Kerala is only 15 meters, the total land that would be frozen across the State would be more than five times this figure.

This is further aggravated by the fact that Kerala has double the national average of road density per sq. km. Development is already heavily restricted as the eastern side is flanked by forests, the Western Ghats and Ecologically Sensitive Areas; the midland is protected under the Paddy Land and Wetland Conservation Act; and the coastal belt is governed by CRZ regulations.

6. Risk of Uncompensated Expropriation
We apprehend that permitting the expansion from 45 meters to 150 meters (further 52.5 meters from both sides of 45 meter NH), without paying any compensation will enable the opposite party, the NHAI, to illegally and unjustly seize private property. The responsibility to provide safety amenities rests with the NHAI, and it must acquire any additional land required for the same through lawful means and after paying due compensation. It is submitted that there are no scientific studies to show that the lack of 75 meters buffer zone is the cause of accidents in National Highways.

7. Repeated Trauma of Eviction
Due to flawed planning in the past, land for NH-66 was acquired in multiple phases. Thousands of families living on the roadside have had to endure the traumatic ordeal of repeated evictions. Their entire hope for the future rests on the small residual land left with them. If that too is frozen, it may drive many to extreme steps, including suicide.

8. Due Process for Land Acquisition Must be Followed
The settled position of law, as laid down by various Courts, is that land shall not be frozen in the name of a project. Land must be acquired only after preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR), obtaining Government approval, and paying compensation through the legally mandated land acquisition process, rather than by an arbitrary freezing order.

9. No Scientific Nexus Between Buffer Zone and Accidents
It has not been scientifically established that the absence of a buffer zone is the cause of accidents on National Highways. The buffer zone has no nexus whatsoever with the two accidents that led the Hon'ble Court to take suo motu cognizance.

10. Kerala's Unique Socio-Environmental Vulnerabilities
Kerala is a narrow, rectangular State with an average width of just 65 km and length of 600 km. Within a total area of only 38,863 sq. km, 3,62,39,000 people live with a density of 933 persons per sq. km, more than double the national average. 29% of the State's area is forest. As per the Gadgil and Oommen V. Oommen Committee reports, nearly 1,000 sq. km adjacent to forests has been declared as Ecologically Fragile Land where construction is restricted.

Furthermore, 44 rivers, a 600 km coastline, paddy fields, wetlands and marshes, along with their associated regulatory laws, put immense pressure on available land. Excluding 48% highland (mountainous) and 41.8% midland (hilly) terrain, the vast majority of the population is densely packed into the remaining coastal region, which constitutes only 10.2% of the land. With 79.42% of the State classified or to be considered as urban, its building density is several times higher than the national average. Considering all these factors, the buffer zone order will have an immeasurable and devastating social impact on the State.

As a citizen residing more than 2,500 kilometres away from Delhi, at the southernmost tip of the country, it is financially and physically arduous for me to appear before the Hon'ble Supreme Court in person and seek redressal of my grievances. It is out of sheer helplessness and lack of any alternative remedy that I am constrained to place this humble representation before Your Lordship. I most humbly pray that the same may be considered with compassion and appropriate action be taken.

PRAYER

In view of the unique and exceptional circumstances of the State of Kerala detailed above, it is most humbly prayed that the Hon'ble Supreme Court may be pleased to review, reconsider and suitably modify its interim orders dated 13.04.2026 and grant complete exemption  from the implementation of clauses 'd' and 'e' of the interim order of the Supreme Court.

With utmost respect,

Highway Action Forum

Date:  02 November 2026
Place: Kayamkulam