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Highways Minister E.V. Velu stated in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly that if Larsen & Toubro (L&T) did not build the four-lane highway between Neelambur and Madukkarai in the Coimbatore district, efforts were being made to build the four-lane adjacently and steps were being taken to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) in this regard. In response to AIADMK lawmaker S. Damodaran's (Kinathukadavu) question, Velu stated that the demand was reasonable given the large number of heavy vehicles that were using the six-lane highway linking Salem and Kochi. Between Neelambur and Madukkarai, a 27-km stretch, there was intended to be a six or four-lane expansion by the L&T, but it was still just two lanes. Velu recalled his discussion of the matter with Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, as well as his conversations with L&T. “I have informed the Union Minister about the problem. Since it is a National Highways, the state government could not do much in this issue. The L&T promised to comply but didn't. The deadline for the project is 2029,� said Velu. He stated a meeting had been conducted with the National Highways Authority of India's chief engineer and that a thorough project report was being written. The Minister stated that a four-lane highway would be built nearby if the L&T did not build the road. Damodaran had earlier claimed that the Salem-Kochi highway had six lanes, but that it was only two lanes between Neelambur and Madukkarai, despite the fact that property had been purchased to build a four-lane in this section.