The Hindu : Front Page : Work on IT corridor at a snail's pace

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Work on IT corridor at a snail's pace

T. Ramakrishnan

Official sources say less than 10 per cent of road improvement project completed

AMBITIOUS VENTURE: Men at work in Taramani. — Shaju John

CHENNAI: Work on the Information Technology corridor, a prestigious infrastructure project for Chennai, seems to be progressing at a slow pace.

Official sources say that not even 10 per cent of the road improvement work has been completed, whereas half of the work should have been finished by now.

They say despite the unprecedented rain between October and December much more could have been done.

The original deadline is May. If the project progresses at this pace, the work may not be over even by August. The fault seems to lie with a contractor who has taken up road improvement work.

The executing agency has not mobilised "adequate resources, both in terms of materials and manpower," the sources say, adding that the position will be reviewed soon.

In the first phase, the road, also called Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), will be strengthened and widened to six lanes from the Madhya Kailash temple in Adyar to Siruseri. The project is estimated to cost about Rs. 200 crore. The work is to be completed by May.

A special purpose vehicle, IT Expressway Limited, has been floated. The company has given two contracts — one for the road improvement work that includes formation of drains and another for laying ducts and trenches for cables.

The first contract was settled in April at a value of about Rs. 117 crore and the second six months later for about Rs.40 crore. The contracts were awarded to different agencies.

Land acquisition

The sources say land acquisition is progressing smoothly and except for the stretch of East Coast Road-OMR link road, the acquisition process is in its final phase. Distribution of compensation is likely to begin in a month.

The Government and the SPV are stepping up pressure on the contractors.

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