Malappuram: Nilambur MLA Aryadan Shoukath has announced that the long-awaited Nilambur bypass project has received a technical sanction worth ₹35 crore for its first phase.

The sanctioned stretch covers 2.46 kilometres, starting from OCK Padi on the Calicut–Nilambur–Gudallur (CNG) Road and ending near the Chakkalakkuth Urban Health Centre. Works will include full road surfacing and tarring.

In addition, approval has been granted to widen and upgrade 600 metres of the Nilambur Kottappadi–ICICI Bank stretch, including the OCK Padi bypass junction. With the sanction in place, the project will now move to the tendering stage.

“Technical sanction has been accorded and the work will begin soon after the tendering process,” MLA Aryadan Shoukath said. “This is the first concrete step towards realising a project that Nilambur has been waiting for over three decades.”

To facilitate road widening in Nilambur town, the District Collector has approved the transfer of land—3 metres in width and 161 metres in length—belonging to the Forest Office. In return, the Public Works Department will provide equivalent land in Chungathara. This settlement clears a major hurdle that had delayed road development in the town.

“The land transfer from the Forest Department was crucial, as road improvement in the town had reached a standstill. Now, with the District Collector’s approval, works can proceed without further delay,” Shoukath added.

The full bypass, planned to stretch six kilometres from OCK Padi to Veliyamthodu along the CNG Road, has been a long-pending demand for more than 35 years. The project was first inaugurated in February 2016 by then UDF minister Aryadan Mohammed, with ₹36 crore allocated at the time. Compensation worth ₹15.2 crore had already been distributed to landowners, but no construction work followed in the past nine years.

Shoukath noted that reviving the bypass was his top priority after winning the recent by-election. “Immediately after assuming office, I convened a meeting of PWD officials and personally submitted a memorandum to Minister PA Mohammed Riyas. The present sanction is the outcome of those discussions and the Minister’s positive response,” he said.