Copyright thehindu
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has paid a sum of ₹5.6 crore to the School Education Department as compensation for acquiring a portion of land that belonged to the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Tiruvalam village near Katpadi in Vellore. NHAI action comes after The Hindu, in its report dated November 7, highlighted the plight of hundreds of students of the school for safe access to classrooms as the demolition of eight unused classrooms and a portion of the compound wall by NHAI had turned the campus slushy and uneven, risking students especially during monsoon. NHAI has demolished classrooms and the compound wall of the school to acquire 1,784 sq.mt of school land for its ongoing widening work of the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48). Officials of the School Education Department said that non-payment of compensation for acquired school land has stopped them from undertaking repair works like the levelling of the campus and identification of land for building new classrooms within the campus. Following the new report, P. Merian Jothika, Special Tasildar (Land Acquisition), in her report to Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi, said that NHAI has transferred the compensation online to the bank account of Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Vellore, on November 7. A copy of the report is available with The Hindu. The report also says that the CEO has written to Krishnagiri based Project Director, NHAI, in August 2025, to pay the compensation for school land in Tiruvalam for road widening work. Subsequently, the request has been forwarded to General Manager, NHAI, New Delhi, in October for its nod. Apart from paying compensation, NHAI also undertook the levelling of the demolished open space within the school campus on Friday. School authorities thanked the district administration and NHAI for taking immediate action to ensure the safety of students. The 1966-built school, which is spread around three acres, has around 300 students between Class VI and XII with 20 teachers and 12 classrooms. Most of the students are from the surrounding farming villages. NHAI officials said that the ongoing widening work is part of the ₹5,964-crore Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway. As per estimates, the expressway will be converted into a four-lane route, at least 90 metres wide. Elevated bridges, underpasses and toll plazas are its other features.
