Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Government accused of flouting pledge to court

Staff Reporter

Upkeep of roads under State Transport Project

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government Contractors' Association has accused the State Government of violating an assurance to the High Court on dropping the Performance-Based Maintenance and Management (PBMM) contract for the upkeep of 101 km of roads taken up under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP).

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, association president Varghese Kannamballi alleged that the Government was trying to reintroduce the PBMM contract under a different name. He said the association had withdrawn its public interest litigation (PIL) in January 2004 after the Government informed the High Court of its decision to cancel the proposed contract in the Malappuram, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

Mr. Kannamballi said the Government was working on a new package named Performance-Based Maintenance and Contract (PBMC) for the maintenance of 199.13 km of roads in the Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts. He said the harsh terms of the contract were designed to keep out contractors from the State and limit the bidders to the big firms that are known for violating labour laws, denying minimum wages and child labour. Mr. Kannamballi said the new scheme would gradually lead to redundancy of the Public Works Department. The association would approach the High Court again against the decision of the Government, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Claim of dual control stalls resumption of forest land
`Pinarayi spreading violence'
Landslip near Palliyadi affects train services
Congress(S) will remain in LDF: Kadannappally
Government accused of flouting pledge to court
Vettucaud church fete begins on November 11
`Traditional printing industry in a crisis'
1,055 booths set up for bypoll
Departments getting their act together
`Sthree' is back
Achuthanandan criticises failure to act on `game meat' ad
Promoting handicrafts
Chennithala gives clean chit to Venugopal
`Kerala University to consider offering degree honours course'
Demonstration
`No bird flu in State'
Man electrocuted
Around the City
In Thiruvananthapuram Today
Campus Notes

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu