Uncertainty looms over Kozhikode-Meppadi tunnel construction; contract firm likely to be blacklisted

MEPPADI: In the wake of the landslide disaster, a detailed study will be conducted before resuming the construction of the Kozhikode-Meppadi tunnel. With this, the project, which was aimed to be completed within four years, fell into uncertainty.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan clarified that he will check whether the strict conditions of the Union Environment Ministry were followed or not. There will also be a special investigation into the cause of the accident. The final decision will be made after evaluating the reports of these two investigations.

Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon, which took up the construction through a subcontract, may be blacklisted and banned. The government has taken serious note of the company's failure to follow even the precautionary instructions of the high-level meeting held to prevent landslides. The state Public Works Department is responsible for the construction. The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the implementation and management of the project is Konkan Railway Corporation Limited. Dilip Buildcon took over the construction from them.

The construction work was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in August 2025. The cost of the project is 2134 crores. There are allegations that the construction was done without considering the topography of Meppadi, which has friable soil. The amount of soil is less in Anakampoyil, Kozhikode, where the tunnel route starts. However, to reach the place where the rock needs to be drilled in Meppadi, the soil needs to be removed 300 meters long, 60 meters wide and 30 meters high.

The company's plan to remove soil close to the rock before the monsoon failed. The excavated soil piled up like a huge mountain near the construction site. Excavation began without preparing a place to store the soil.