A project that will help decongest GST Road and allow motorists to reach Velachery - the 9-km-long Eastern Bypass - seems to be stuck. An approval to hand over 675 m of the Vandalur Reserve Forest land in exchange for land in Narayanapuram in Chengalpattu district is yet to see the light of the day.

“We have been behind this particular clearance for over three years. Stage one clearance from the Centre too has been obtained. However, the forest land remains elusive. If cleared, three portions of the project can be completed in one go,” said an official source. 

The final section of the decades-old bypass project is a bridge that is coming up across what is remaining of the Rajakilpakkam lake. Work to construct the ₹208.31 crore facility began recently. Among the structures that are being demolished include a swimming pool, an overhead tank and its motor room, an office of the local ward member and a ration shop.

“A total of 122 structures come in our way. We have removed all but 22 houses that have been illegally constructed on the bed. Though the Land Acquisition Act has no provisions for encroachers, as a special case the government agreed to provide them with alternative accomodation, which we have arranged through the Urban Habitat Board. However, the houses are yet to be allotted to the beneficiaries as a total of ₹6.24 crore has to be paid to the board,” said another source. 

The 23-metre-wide bridge will have 70 piers and the longer arm landing near Madambakkam junction will be 1442.692 m. The one near the Rajakilpakkam junction will be 943.406 m long. It will take 18 months to be completed.

IT sector employee Vidya Sridhar, who stays near Vandalur, said the bypass would come as a boon to many working on OMR and Velachery. “The new government should take steps to complete the work,” she said.