WORK IN PROGRESS: Highways Minister M.P. Swaminathan (left), inspected the works at the Road overbridge connecting GST Road and the Pallavaram - Thoraipakkam Road on Tuesday. The Labour Minister T.M. Anbarasan (third from left) and Highways Secretary , K. Allauddin (second from right), explaining the works. — PHOTO: A. MURALITHARAN

TAMBARAM: The reasons for the delay in completion of Road Over Bridges on the Tambaram-Chennai Beach section would be found out and works speeded up to complete them at the earliest, said M.P. Swaminathan, State Highways Minister, on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at Pallavaram after inspecting some of the ROBs taken up after completion of gauge conversion between Tambaram and Chennai Beach, the Minister said the Government wanted to find out the reasons for the delay of projects taken up in the past five years. Accompanied by Alandur MLA and State Labour Welfare Minister T.M. Anbarasan, he inspected the construction of bridges at Alandur, Meenambakkam and Pallavaram, apart from the subway at Thillai Ganga Nagar.

Land acquisition

Later, Mr. Swaminathan told reporters that land acquisition was the most important reason for the delay in completion of projects. He would take up the issue with the Collectors of Chennai and Kancheepuram apart from the Commissioner of Land Acquisition so that the problems are sorted out. The bridge under construction to connect M.K.N. Road, Alandur with Chakrapani Street on the eastern side was taken up in January 2004, with the Southern Railway completing its portion the previous year. The Rs. 12-crore project was to have been completed in April this year, but work came to a halt due to land acquisition.

The subway connecting M.K.N. Road with Thillai Ganga Nagar, Pazhavanthangal and Nanganallur areas was completed at a cost of Rs. 20 crore. But the approach road to connect the subway with GST Road via M.K.N. Road could not be completed due to land acquisition issues, Mr. Swaminathan said.

Meenambakkam subway

On the subway near Meenambakkam railway station, work on which had come to a grinding halt, the Minister said as land on either side of the subway belonged to the Defence Ministry, they had to hand over equal amount of land to the Ministry.

Now, the land to be handed over to Defence Ministry was identified and the process would be speeded up. Work on this subway, constructed at a cost of Rs. 9 crore, was started in October 2002 and stopped soon after preliminary works.

The bridge connecting GST Road at Pallavaram and the Pallavaram-Thuraipakkam Radial Road was being built at a cost of Rs. 18 crore and is scheduled to be completed by December 2006.

K. Alauddin, Highways Secretary, M. Balachandran, Chief Engineer, D. Kuppan and A. Palani, Divisional Engineers, were also present.

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